Renewable energy sources will account for 67 percent of the electricity produced in the developing Asia by 2050, according to a report released on Friday.
Renewable energy will supplant the need for nuclear energy and reducing requirements for fossil fuel-fired power plants, said the report jointly released by Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council.
The "Energy (R)evolution: A Sustainable World Energy Outlook" says that aggressive investment in renewable power generation and energy efficiency could create an annual US$360 billion industry worldwide, provide half of the world's electricity, and slash more than 18 trillion dollars in future fuel costs while protecting the climate.
"This report shows that there is a way forward toward economic prosperity in Asia while at the same time protect our future generations from the threats of climate change," said Beau Baconguis, Philippines Campaign Manager for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, in a statement.
"We now need bold new energy policies from our leaders to revolutionize the way we produce and consume energy," she added.
"With renewable energy growing four-fold not only in the electricity sector, but also in the heating and transport sectors, we can still cut the average carbon emissions per person from today's four tons to around one ton by 2050," she said.
"The global market for renewable energy can grow at double digit rates until 2050, and overtake the size of today's fossil fuel industry. Currently, the renewable energy market is worth US$70 billion and doubling in size every three years," said Oliver Schafer, Policy Director of the European Renewable Energy Council.
"Because of economy of scales, renewable energies such as wind power at good sites are already competitive with conventional power. From around 2015 onwards, we are confident that renewable energies across all sectors will be the most cost effective energy capacities," he added.
(Xinhua News Agency October 31, 2008)
