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Petro dollars or renewable energy: Make it while we can?
photo by byronv2 (Flickr CC)
A new study by the WWF says it’s possible to cut global carbon emissions by 80% by the year 2050 by investing heavily in green tech. Kind of like China is doing, but without all the investment in fossil fuels that they are also doing.
The report claims that we could source 95% of our energy from renewables. While we are currently using and demanding more and more energy intensive goods and services, energy saving measures are in fact reducing the actual energy we use.
From an article in the Ecologist
Before pouring billions into creating a new generation of nuclear or gas power stations we need to ask whether that money would be better invested in other, more sustainable energy technologies, especially if these other technologies can create a substantial number of new jobs in the UK.
–Nick Molho, WWF-UK head of energy policy
Be that as it may, European fossil fuel giants BP and Shell are doing OK, despite the former’s recent payouts. The latter, Shell, reported earnings of almost 1.6 million GBP per hour with a yearly profit of 18.6 billion GBP. Their profits have recently risen due to the current unrest in Egypt, which has caused the price per barrel of oil to climb to over $100. It might sound a bit like war profiteering, but that’s the opportunism of capitalism for you.
For more on this story check out the following piece in the Guardian:
Shell makes nearly £1.6m profits every hour
Participate the Guardian’s poll on whether or not oil companies should pay a “supertax” here.
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