The transition to renewable energy.
As we are all aware, the supposedly “developed” countries continue to use (unsustainable, finite) fossil fuels. Some people become extremely wealthy from the proceeds of destroying the planet – and millions of others lose their homes, habitats and lives as a result. These wealthy countries have all the power at their disposal to make a full transition to 100% renewable energy.
The evidence is clear:
Costa Rica (where one quarter of the population lives in poverty) sources 98% of its electricity from renewable energy (hydro, wind and geothermal). The Costa Rican energy institute is state-owned and plans to achieve 100% renewability for the whole of this year. Costa Rica is a “developing country,” but it is far ahead of the UK in terms of sustainability. There is a movement there for replacing all petroleum-powered cars with electric cars. If they can do it …
If you could think of a country which may be least likely to consider transitioning to renewable, I suggest that Afghanistan may be one you thought of; after all, in 2021 it produced 2000 barrels of oil daily. However, by 2015, oil production in Afghanistan had ceased. It now makes highly efficient use of its abundant renewable sources. 11500 new-build homes, schools and markets are being constructed with a mixture of hydro, solar and wind power. If they can do it …
There are some encouraging signs. China (population 1.4 billion) is the world’s greatest user of renewable energy technologies. It aims to source 1/5 of its electricity from non-fossil sources by 2030. It will double its wind and quadruple its solar power sources by 2020. If they can do it …
85% of the power generated in the tiny island of Albania already comes from renewable sources. In mainland Europe the average is only 30%. If they can do it, why can’t we?
