‘The markets have moved on renewables, policy makers must keep up’, A Sting Exclusive by Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Mr. Erik Solheim, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment. The opinions expressed in this article belong to the distinguished writer.

Mr Erik Solheim is the Executive Director of UN Environment
 and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Just in case there was ever any doubt, it’s now crystal clear that clean, renewable energy is the future. The latest data shows a record quantity of new capacity added to the global grid last year, outstripping new fossil fuel plants and bringing the overall investment envelope to a whopping $2.9 trillion since 2004.

For eight consecutive years, global investment in renewables have exceeded $200 billion, with a massive fall in renewables costs — particularly the tumbling price of solar panels – bringing increased bang for the buck. It’s share of the grid has doubled in a decade.

There were plenty of stand-out stories too, all showing that the last-ditch defence of coal in the United States is not the new agenda. South Australia’s energy woes, consisting of black- and brown-outs and high electricity bills, spurred a proof-of-concept from Tesla who installed, in record time, the world’s biggest lithium battery. That has helped put to bed questions on whether solar was ready for the surge demands of a major grid.

Read the article from The European Sting -  “‘The markets have moved on renewables, policy makers must keep up’, A Sting Exclusive by Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment.”