UN says renewables could supply 80% of world’s energy needs

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that renewable energy sources like solar and wind could supply almost 80% of global energy needs. Governments worldwide would have to make significant investments in new technologies that would allow the integration of traditional energy and renewable energy sources. “The report shows that it is not the availability of the resource but the public policies that will either expand or constrain renewable energy development over the coming decades,” says Ramon Pichs, who co-chaired the group tasked with producing the report. The amount of investment that the IPCC believes will be needed to meet required changes in energy use will cost approximately US$1.5 trillion by 2020 and up to $7.2 trillion by 2030. (May 12,2011)