Source: Pexels
Global warming is a serious issue that only started to gain attraction once it became a very visible issue. The devastation that it causes across the planet is unimaginable.
The only way we can get out of this situation is by making a very fast switch to using renewable energy. Otherwise, this whole planet can expect many more disasters to come. Different countries are working on transitioning to using renewable resources. It’s still not perfect, but some progress can be seen in these countries.
What does the renewable energy landscape look like post-COVID?
Crowning only one country with the title of the world leader in renewable energy is a very difficult task to do, especially post-COVID. Many countries halted their progress in going green in order to handle the pandemic. Now, with vaccines available and the world slowly recovering, countries are able to go back to going green. However, this transition back to renewable energy is progressing at different rates for many countries, especially the ones that were hit the hardest by the energy crisis.
One country that doesn’t need to worry about the upcoming cold winter is Australia, which trades coal with countries that demand it. Since it’s in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s still very sunny there, which means an abundance of solar power. Australia has a huge potential to harness solar energy and it may well be their future source of electricity. This is proven by the fact that Australian households currently have the highest uptake of solar power in the world.
Which country invests the most in renewable energy?
It’s also really hard to calculate which country invests the most in this very important field; however, some countries do stand out from others. The US and Chinese governments are particular standouts as those who have invested the most in renewable energy. Not many people realize that China is the country that has been the fastest at trying to go green completely. There are reports that China has invested more than US$126 billion into renewable energy.
Which countries are not using their potential renewable energy sources enough?
Some countries have great potential to use more renewable energies but just do not do it sufficiently. As mentioned before, Australia has great potential to go completely solar but is only now just starting to use it. Some countries can also benefit more by using the natural resources at their disposal. For example, the US and Canada have great potential to use hydroelectricity. If they switched only even by a small margin not only would they become more green, but the governments would also benefit financially. Below is an infographic from comparethemarket.com.au, showing the potential for countries to capitalize on renewable energy.
Source: CompareTheMarket
What technology can be advanced with increased funding?
With more funding and research, solar energy would undoubtedly be the renewable technology that advances the most. In the past decade, this technology has already quickly improved and has shown to be quite sustainable. The US invests the most in solar energy and is probably the best country to have solar panels right now, not only because of the price but because of the tax breaks that the government offers if you install these.
What renewable energy industry will benefit most from funding?
Even though solar energy technology can advance with more funding, this field of renewable energy would not benefit the most from funding; nuclear energy is actually the area that can benefit the most from more funding, as these plants can produce massive amounts of energy for reasonable costs. The countries that use the most of this nuclear potential are the US, France, and Russia.
Source: Pexels
In order to truly be known as the world leader in renewable energy, countries will need to invest far more in these green technologies. Climate change is coming at us very rapidly and some experts think that it might even be too late to undo the damage. All of these countries are making big promises, but will they keep them?
Without radical and fast changes to the system, there is no hope to truly become carbon neutral. Big governments need to realize this and that some things are more valuable than making as much money as possible. The year 2021 needs to be the year when big decisions and changes are made in order to save this planet. Only then can we talk about which country is truly the world leader when it comes to renewable energy.
