Sven Teske, University of Technology Sydney and Sarah Niklas, University of Technology Sydney
Keeping global warming under 1.5°C is still achievable with rapid deployment of renewables. A new report found solar and wind can supply the world’s energy demand more than 50 times over.
Abandoned US oil and gas wells and their associated land cover more than 2 million acres, a recent study estimates – an area larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined.
Photos from the early 1900s show LA’s forests of oil derricks. Hundreds of wells are still pumping, and new research finds people living nearby are struggling with breathing problems.
Mike Joy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
There is no doubt we need to stop emitting fossil carbon. But if we fixate on replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy and don’t also reduce consumption and energy waste, we risk failure.
Some Australian states have committed to 100% renewable energy targets, or even 200% renewable energy targets. But this doesn’t mean their electricity is, or will be, emissions free.
The opportunity won’t last forever. Countries that move first will gain an advantage in new industries, technologies and export markets. Those that wait may never catch up.
Ryan Wiser, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Bentham Paulos, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Dev Millstein, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Joseph Rand, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Fifteen years ago electric power generation was the largest source of US greenhouse gas emissions. Now the power sector is leading the shift to a clean energy economy.
David Hall, Auckland University of Technology and Nina Ives, Auckland University of Technology
New Zealand has put just over half of its NZ$50 billion pandemic stimulus towards clean energy, but several fossil fuel powered projects will slow down the country’s shift to a low-emissions economy.
Permanently protecting large, mature forests is a faster and cheaper way to stabilize Earth’s climate than complex carbon capture and storage schemes, and more effective than planting new trees.
Investment in renewable electricity needs bipartisan political support and some bold decisions if New Zealand is to meet its future energy commitments.