More Renewables Needed For Electricity

The world needs to intensify the development and adoption of renewable energy technologies to generate electricity and lower greenhouse gas emissions, according to an analysis by the International Energy Agency. The report foresees an 80% increase in worldwide electricity generation between 2011 and 2050 to meet demand. At the same time, emissions from electricity generation are on the rise, it points out. Those emissions expanded by 75% between 1990 and 2011 because of increased demand and little change in the amount of carbon dioxide released per unit of electricity. “Growing use of coal globally is overshadowing progress in renewable energy deployment,” says Maria van der ­Hoeven, executive director of IEA. The report emphasizes that natural gas can bridge the transition to renewables but isn’t a long-term solution unless coupled with carbon capture and sequestration.