” If not us, Who will ? If not now, when? If not here, where? “

These are the words of Naderev Saño addressing the president in the forum on climate change at the UN in 2012. Choking back tears, he called for a plan of action to tackle climate change, a plan to reduce CO2 emissions, and a commitment by the countries that could contribute to a better future.

Naderev Saño’s speech:

Now, on the threshold of 2014 , the International Energy Agency has released a report projecting the situation in 2035. The goal is to produce 48% renewable electricity. Projections estimate that we will only reach 31% in 2035, compared with 20% in 2011.

During this 20 years period a lot can happen: technological advances will help to solve challenges that we can only imagine today. For instance, Elon Musk fantasized about building electric airplanes. It is not crazy to believe him looking at his track record. Elon is founder and CEO of Tesla and Spacex so he knows what he is talking about. Who knows ? Maybe he builds his dream and will then look for electric boats, …

Apart from amazing entrepreneurs and talent, we also need commitment from public policy. We need policies that can help drive the change. For example, subsidies to fossil fuels in 2012 were a staggering $ 544 billion, while renewables only received $ 101 billion, with an estimated $ 220 billion in 2035.

We need to coordinate policies and talent to build a better future.

Source:

http://www.abb-conversations.com/2013/11/iea-48-electricity-from-renewable-energy-sources-needed-by-2035/