A recent report has stated that green energy may be the answer to drive economic recovery as the economy tries to recover from the effects the lockdown caused by Covid-19 has had.
It is believed that the renewable energy industry would help economic recovery by gains of around £80 trillion between now and 2050.
The International Renewable Energy Agency concluded that increasing the rates of investment into renewable energy may produce massive economic benefits whilst also tackling the climate change.
Francesco La Camera, the director general of the agency has said that the coronavirus has exposed many vulnerabilities and problems within the current system and he has encouraged governments to start investing more into renewable energy so that climate targets can be met but to also help the economy to get going again.
The report from the International Renewable Energy Agency found that an increased rate of investment into the renewable energy industry would aid in the fight against climate change and it would effectively pay for itself.
By investing into renewable energy, estimated gains of £78 trillion above the business as usual scenario would be added to the global GDP by 2050 and for every pound that is invested it would return between £2.40 and £6.40.
The added investment into the sector would also lead to the number of jobs quadrupling to 42 million over the next 30 years. The benefits of using renewable energy would also lead to improved health and welfare around the world.
It is also hoped that increased renewable energy would slow the rise in global temperatures as there will be far fewer carbon dioxide emissions. The report estimated that carbon dioxide emissions could decrease by up to 70 per cent by 2050.
One main way to reduce carbon dioxide would be to focus on investing into green hydrogen. The fuel which burns cleanly can be used to replace the fossil fuel gas that is sued when making steel and cement. The green hydrogen can be produced by using electricity from renewable plants to split water into its two separate elements of hydrogen and oxygen.
The chief executive of the World Resources Institute, Andrew Steer has highlighted how important it is that the correct choice is made as we recover from this pandemic. He stated we can either choose to change how we live and pursue a clean and modern energy system or carry on how we did before lockdown which is a very polluting way.
Dr Fatih Birol who is the head of the International Energy Agency has already called governments to put in place policies that will ensure a smooth green energy transition once we are through this pandemic.
He said that the current crisis should not get in the way of the transition to a cleaner and greener society and that we currently have a very important window of opportunity.
The chairman and CEO of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galan has already vowed that his Spanish renewables company will continue investing billions into renewable technologies as well as new battery storage and electricity networks to integrate all the clean energy. He believes that it is essential that money is investing into green energy because it will benefit the world socially, economically and environmentally and that governments must ensure that they align their economic stimulus and policy packages with climate change in mind.