A new report by the World Bank, Sustainably Energy for All Global Tracking Framework, is advising middle to high-income countries to invest more in renewable energy as part of the effort to end world poverty. The report suggests wealthy countries to invest an additional $600 billion a year in energy efficiency until the year 2030. This number is $200 billion more than the current estimate.

The World Bank is calling on the top 20 “high-impact” countries that use about 60% of the world’s energy consumption to double the amount of renewable energy they use as well as energy efficiency. When this happens, these countries will increase their renewable energy consumption to 36%.

This report also discloses that wealthy countries have made “only ‘modest’ progress” in terms of increasing renewable energy usage since 1990. In fact, there has been a negative 1.3% energy improvement rate between 1990 and 2010. If the world’s wealthiest countries are to reach the doubling energy efficiency by 2030, efforts must dramatically improve.

In addition to the World Bank suggesting a $600 billion renewable energy investment, the organization also recommends utilizing $45 billion of this money in expanding electricity and $4.4 billion towards improving cooking standards. Of the remaining funds, $395 billion should be invested in energy efficiency and $174 billion in renewable energy.

As demand of electricity continues to increase, it is prevalent that energy costs decrease and countries find a way to use more sustainable energy. One in five people, about 1.5 billion people, currently do not have access to electricity. Once the world’s wealthy countries embrace renewable, efficient energy, poor countries have a better chance of growing economically and developing.

– Mary Penn

Source: Greenwise Business
Photo: WMO