Fossil fuels are currently the world’s leading energy producers, with over 70% of the world’s energy dependent on it. However, fossil fuels are also extremely environmentally damaging. When they are burned, fossil fuels release a large amount of Carbon Dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps heat in our atmosphere and causes global warming. As a result, scientists have been attempting to find renewable energy sources instead. Renewable resources are different from traditional resources in that it replenishes itself after every use which provides reliable power supplies (as due to the fact that it can restore itself, we have an unlimited supply), helps conserve our natural resources (fossil fuels in particular), and since it helps us reduce our reliance on Fossil fuels, the benefits would also include the reduction of the negative impacts the fuels cause such as fuel leaks and reduction in greenhouse gasses.

Renewable energy currently only make up about 26% of the world’s energy sources, however the future for the technology seems quite optimistic as the International Energy Agency (IEA) has stated that renewable resources is expected to increase to 30% in 2024. It also

predicts that global solar capacity will increase by 600 gigawatts, which to put it into perspective, is almost twice the amount of the total electric

capacity in Japan. The overall global renewable energy capacity is anticipated to increase by 1200 gigawatts, an amount equivalent to the total electric capacity in the United States. Many powerful countries have also implemented goals to reach certain renewable power capacities, with China, India, the United States, and Europe contributing to 80% of the expansion of renewable energy capacities.

With so many influential countries setting ambitious environmentally concious energy goals and inspiring other countries to follow, there is no doubt that renewable energy sources will soon replace that of traditional energy producers within the next century. As the implementation of renewable resources increase, as will the accessibility of it to more people, making for a cleaner future ahead.

Works Cited

“Renewable Electricity Growth is Accelerating Faster than Ever Worldwide, Supporting the Emergence of the New Global Energy Economy – News.”,

https://www.iea.org/news/renewable-electricity-growth-is-accelerating-faster-than-ever -worldwide-supporting-the-emergence-of-the-new-global-energy-economy.

“What the Future of Renewable Energy Looks Like.”, -08-22T02:00:32+00:00, 2021, https://earth.org/the-growth-of-renewable-energy-what-does-the-future-hold/.

“Why Clean Energy is Important .”,

https://buycleanenergy.org/why#:~:text=Renewable%20energy%20provides%20reliable %20power,conserve%20the%20nation’s%20natural%20resources.

Image credits: 

By Chris Newman, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13485436