IPCC Says 80 Percent Renewable Energy Possible by 2050

The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has released a report that says 80 percent of the world’s energy needs could come from renewables by 2050, according to the press release. In order for this to happen, however, governments would have to spend more money and introduce a number of new policies. The report says that currently the use of renewables is on the rise as the prices are declining—thus, the authors of the report believe that introducing the proper policies given the current situation could help battle the effects of climate change and help some countries’ economies. Ramon Pichs, co-chair of the group that produced the report, said, “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.”