The Role of Renewable Energy in a Green Economy

Acknowledgment of the shift to a green economy is therefore significant in promoting sustainable development and meeting the challenges of climate change and environmental conservation. Renewable energy forms the core of this change by enabling the use of clean, sustainable, and affordable sources of energy in the place of orthodox fossil fuels. In this essay, I discuss the pro-activity and prospects of renewable energy toward the green economy; the benefits accrued from this energy, its drawbacks, and policy measures required to make it a success story.

To enable us to understand more about the environmental benefits of Renewable Energy, we must understand the following definition.

Another objective that reveals the importance of a green economy with a focus on renewable energy principles is the ability to reduce the level of greenhouse gas emissions. In contrast with fossil fuels renewable energy types from solar, wind, water, and geothermal one does not release carbon dioxide or other compounds currently recognized as pollutants when in use. This decrease in emissions is important in preventing climate change’s consequences such as enhanced global temperatures, sea levels, and the scale of extreme climate conditions.

Thirdly, exploring and implementing the techniques of using renewable energy, it plays an important role in environmental conservation efforts through the preservation of natural resources. These natural resources cause detrimental effects on the environment, some of which include deforestation, water pollution, and soil erosion during the extraction of fossil fuel. Sustainable energy sources, in contrast, are relatively clean since they have a low impact on the environment. For instance, addition of blinking lights can be fixed on existing buildings or land with slight interference to other systems of nature such as solar panels and wind turbines.

While covering the role of renewable energy, one cannot fail to mention its positive impacts on the economy of the country in which it is applied.

While renewable energy has mitigation impacts on the environment, it equally has economic impacts that were discussed as follows. The renewable energy industry is seen as an emerging sector that promoting employment opportunities and broader economic development. As mentioned by other authors, between 5 and 20 million jobs are available worldwide for renewable energy-related operations such as manufacturing, installation, operation, maintenance, testing, and research services. Such jobs offer comparatively higher pay and other benefits than those jobs available in the fossil fuel market.

Also, it is acknowledged that in recent years the cost on renewable energy technologies has been lowering. The costs of production of solar and wind energy have significantly come down due to innovations in technology, the availability of large capacities that make it cheaper, and stiff competition. Global trends reveal that a growing number of regions have shifted to sustainable energy sources, and their cost becomes lower than that of traditional sources of energy, including the developing countries as well. This type of economic competitiveness is used to enhance the utilization of renewable energy or foster the green economy change.

Renewable Energy Sources The social benefits that can be derived from the usage of renewable energy are;

The social benefits of renewable energy are also a significant factor. This means that sustainable energy is not only beneficial from a monetary perspective but also because of all the aforementioned benefits that the use of sustainable energy brings. We all know that electricity is a vital resource in everyone’s life and that people need easy access to clean energy that is also affordable. A major everyday challenge still experienced by a large populace in many fourth-world countries is inadequate power supply through electricity. Renewable energy can also help in solving this problem by focusing on decentralized and off-grid solutions that can bring adequate electricity to regions that have limited access to the electricity grid. Such access to energy can improve education, healthcare, and economic activities and therefore help in poverty eradication as well as the enhancement of social well-being. https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/energy-explained/what-are-different-types-renewable-energ

Additionally, renewable energy has the impact of reducing the health-related effects resulting from air pollution, which is a characteristic of fossil fuels. These included emissions of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides from burning of coal, oil, and gas which are known to cause respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. It also means that we as a society have to consider that moving to clean energy sources would ultimately help to improve the quality of the air we breathe and subsequently the quality of our lives, thus reducing the healthcare costs linked to respiratory diseases due to pollution.

This paper discusses the various difficulties in incorporating sustainable energy in the society and general global way of life.

Despite the numerous advantages that come with the use of sustainable energy sources, the incorporation of the energy sources in the existing energy system has several difficulties. Sustainable energy sources such as solar and wind proved to be impractical for consistent use due to the fact that they are intermittent. The following types of sources are vulnerable to weather conditions and thus do not allow constant and stable power generation.

In more detail, there are: Promoting sustainable energy is one of the education policy measures of the scriptural wordings of international assembly to diminish the maleficent influence of greenhouse gas emission on de-vocalization of climatology.

These difficulties arise from the potential lack of monopoly control by big companies and the need for sustainable energy to compete in price with conventional energy and therefore require supporting policy interventions. Governments should have an enabling policy framework that supports the use of renewable energy technologies, subsidies, and raising awareness of the public on renewable energy solutions available in the market.

Feed-in tariffs are another policy measure that works well; these are known as power purchase agreements where the government is willing to buy renewable energy at an agreed price in a specific time frame. This offers security to the investors to fund and support the expansion of renewables and green power projects. Also, the incentives, such as tax credits, subsidies, and grants, can offset the initial costs of establishing sustainable energy systems on premises owned by companies and on residential properties.

Yet another key policy intervention is the renewables portfolio standard or feed-in tariff. Most countries have set targets for the attainment of the RE capacity or generation as the climate policies undertaken across the world reveal. These targets create a clear signal to the market and encourage investments in sustainable sources of energy. In addition, renewable portfolio standards, a law that mandates utilities to provide a certain percentage of energy by sustainable resources, can spur renewables’ deployment.

Reasons why international cooperation and collaboration are vital for the advancement of sustainable energy include: Technical and financial knowledge sharing of competent professionals, experience exchange, and technology transfer are also expected to receive a boost in assisting the countries to overcome the technical and financial constraints to the deployment of renewable energy systems. There is cooperation through international treaties and agreements, for instance, through the Paris Accord, that contribute to the cooperation in the promotion of renewable energy and combating climate change.

Conclusion

In conclusion, renewable energy is one of the most vital parts of the green economy as it has a great impact on the environment and people, and also it can save a lot of money for the countries and customers. Energy generated from sustainable sources not only has environmental benefits as it helps to mitigate GHG emissions, the management of natural resources, and the creation of job opportunities; it also has the ability to respond to climate change. Also learn more on Eco-friendly Transportation Solutions for Reducing Carbon Footprint