Climate change will cause increasingly catastrophic global damage if poorer nations fail to transition to cleaner power sources and continue relying on fossil fuels as they expand energy supplies.
A new report highlights the large gap between the amount of clean energy now available in countries from India to Vanuatu and the amount needed to meet increasing energy demand and global climate targets.
“The Green Power Gap” report says that 72 countries mostly in Africa and Asia will need to install 8,700 terawatt hours of clean energy combined by 2050 to serve energy-poor populations and avoid relying on oil, gas or coal. That’s roughly three times the total annual power production of the nations.
Failing to build low-emitting energy sources would make it impossible to keep global temperatures below levels that could cause catastrophic damage — even if the rest of the world meets its climate targets, the report finds.
