One Earth · 2019 · 274 citations · 34 references
Global warming, air pollution, and energy insecurity are three of the greatest problems facing humanity. The study develops Green New Deal energy roadmaps for 143 countries to address these challenges. The roadmaps prescribe a 100 % transition to wind‑water‑solar, efficiency, and storage by 2050 (≥80 % by 2030) and introduce new cost metrics. Analyses show that 100 % WWS supply with storage can meet demand from 2050 to 2052, cuts end‑use energy by 57.1 %, reduces aggregate private energy costs by 61 % and social costs by 91 %, creates 28.6 million jobs, and requires only 0.17 %–0.48 % of land, outperforming BAU.
Global warming, air pollution, and energy insecurity are three of the greatest problems facing humanity. To address these problems, we develop Green New Deal energy roadmaps for 143 countries. The roadmaps call for a 100% transition of all-purpose business-as-usual (BAU) energy to wind-water-solar (WWS) energy, efficiency, and storage by 2050 with at least 80% by 2030. Our studies on grid stability find that the countries, grouped into 24 regions, can match demand exactly from 2050 to 2052 with 100% WWS supply and storage. We also derive new cost metrics. Worldwide, WWS energy reduces end-use energy by 57.1%, aggregate private energy costs from $17.7 to $6.8 trillion/year (61%), and aggregate social (private plus health plus climate) costs from $76.1 to $6.8 trillion/year (91%) at a present value capital cost of ∼$73 trillion. WWS energy creates 28.6 million more long-term, full-time jobs than BAU energy and needs only ∼0.17% and ∼0.48% of land for new footprint and spacing, respectively. Thus, WWS requires less energy, costs less, and creates more jobs than does BAU.
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