Rural Communities and the Transition to Renewable Energy
Rural communities that embrace the transition to renewables and are helped by government policies and investments will reap economic benefits while combatting climate change.
Rural communities that embrace the transition to renewables and are helped by government policies and investments will reap economic benefits while combatting climate change.
The lack of consensus on what constitutes sustainable activity and lack of transparency into companies ESG metrics are making it difficult for investors to engage in sustainable finance.
We need to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, sequester or capture carbon, and transition to clean energy. And we need to do it now if we hope to meet the goals of the Paris Accord and keep global warming to 1.5˚C. Some changes to our climate as a result of carbon emissions are irreversible, but we can still affect the climate crisis and the economic recovery.
To combat climate change, we need to harness all of the innovative power we have at our disposal to create and refine new ideas that will become the industries of our carbon-free future.
Investment in green energy is growing, but not fast enough to meet the goals of the Paris Accord. More investment in developing economies is needed.
Renewable energy creates jobs. Repurposing coal-powered plants for renewables can provide jobs and revitalize the communities where they are located.
Hydropower should be part of the mix when we talk about renewable energy. Retrofitting existing dams with hydroelectric generators can increase the availability of reliable clean energy.
The Department of Energy released their US Energy and Employment Jobs Report this week. Clean energy jobs are rebounding after the loss of jobs in 2020 and they pay more than the national median salary.
Placing solar farms on closed landfills, or toxic waste cleanup sites, or abandoned mines will spare land needed for farming or development and create cleaner, greener energy.
As long as there is a demand for fossil fuels, someone is going to supply them. By asking big oil to divest themselves of oil and gas assets, we are moving the problem, not solving it.