WWF backed a call in a major UN scientific report released yesterday (Sunday) that the world should more than triple investments in sustainable, safe low-carbon energy sources as the main measure to mitigate climate change.
The report, agreed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), says that the world should triple or quadruple investments in clean energy solutions. WWF goes further, saying that the overwhelming majority of new investments should be made in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The report finds that mitigation of climate change will have limited economic impact in the years ahead compared to the very significant costs of inaction. The report also finds that delaying actions to mitigate climate change will substantially increase the difficulty of the transition to lower emissions levels in the future.
WWF echoes the IPCC findings and renews its call for increased investments in renewable sources of energy.
Samantha Smith, leader of the WWF’s Global Climate & Energy Initiative said:
“The longer we delay on tackling climate change, the harder the challenge becomes. Transforming the world’s energy systems is now an urgent necessity if we are to avoid the dangerous impacts of global warming.
“The IPCC report makes clear that acting on emissions now is affordable, but delaying further increases the costs. The energy sector is by far the largest emitter of greenhouse gases and, therefore, is the key battleground of change.
“We know more effort is needed, and quickly. Delaying new mitigation efforts will make it much harder to transition the world’s energy systems to a sustainable, equitable and low-emissions future,” Smith said.
WWF concludes that the low-carbon emission scenarios proposed by the IPCC require that we must start leaving fossil fuels in the ground right now. This presents both an investment and political challenge.
Jessica McQuade, Policy and Advocacy Officer at WWF Cymru, said:
“The world’s scientists are telling us that climate change is a massive risk that the world isn’t doing enough to tackle. We simply must act – and in Wales we must do all we can to play our part.
“We now need Welsh Ministers to step up action to cut our emissions – and it’s vital they take the IPCC reports on board.
“In practical terms we need to see Welsh Government do everything it can within its devolved powers, as well as using its influence elsewhere, to shift our energy system from fossil fuels to renewables. It will need Ministers in Cardiff to put pressure on Westminster to move towards a decarbonised energy supply’.
“Another important area for action is on housing – where we need to see Welsh Government massively scale up home energy efficiency schemes. Our research shows that if we cut the housing sector’s current carbon emissions by a quarter it will also cut fuel poverty by 40% – benefitting 132,000 households which spend more than 10% of their income on heating [10].”
WWF is currently running a global campaign, Seize Your Power, that is calling for investments to be pulled out of fossil fuels and switched into renewable energy. In light of the IPCC report, WWF continues to believe that investments in renewable energy must be scaled up rapidly.
