WWF: Investments in Renewables Must Be Scaled Up Rapidly

WWF backs a call in a major UN scientific report that the world should more than triple investments in sustainable, safe low-carbon energy sources as the main measure to mitigate climate change.

The report, agreed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), says that the world should triple or quadruple investments in clean energy solutions. WWF goes further, saying that the overwhelming majority of new investments should be made in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

The report finds that mitigation of climate change will have limited economic impact in the years ahead compared to the very significant costs of inaction. The report also finds that delaying actions to mitigate climate change will substantially increase the difficulty of the transition to lower emissions levels in the future.

WWF echoes the IPCC findings and renews its call for increased investments in renewable sources of energy.

“The longer we delay on tackling climate change, the harder the challenge becomes,” said Samantha Smith, leader of the WWF’s Global Climate & Energy Initiative. “Transforming the world’s energy systems is now an urgent necessity if we are to avoid the dangerous impacts of global warming.”

The IPCC report makes clear that acting on emissions now is affordable, but delaying further increases the costs. The energy sector is by far the largest emitter of greenhouse gases and, therefore, is the key battleground of change.

“We know more effort is needed, and quickly. Delaying new mitigation efforts will make it much harder to transition the world’s energy systems to a sustainable, equitable and low-emissions future,” Smith said.

WWF concludes that the low-carbon emission scenarios proposed by the IPCC require that fossil fuels must be left in the ground right now. This presents both an investment and political challenge.

“Renewable energy can no longer be considered a niche market. Renewables must – and should – eventually take the full share of the global energy market within the next few decades,” said Dr Stephan Singer, WWF director of global energy policy.

“For far too long, those who profit most from pollution have told us that tackling climate change is just too expensive. But these IPCC reports remind us that these pundits are wrong and that we can act, and must act, to curb dangerous climate change,” said Tony Long, Director of the WWF European Policy Office.

“Protecting the planet that sustains all life should be reason enough to take action. The fact that the transition away from fossil fuels will improve the health of millions of Europeans while also saving billions of euros from EU energy import bills provides a powerful additional argument.”

WWF is currently running a global campaign, Seize Your Power, that is calling for investments to be pulled out of fossil fuels and switched into renewable energy. In light of the IPCC report, WWF continues to believe that investments in renewable energy must be scaled up rapidly.

Press release, April 18, 2014