Asian economies must ramp up wind and solar power to keep global warming under 1.5C, report says
abcnews.go.comA German thinktank has reported that to prevent global warming from surpassing the critical threshold of 1.5 Celsius, major Asian economies must ensure they can get half of their total electricity from renewables by 2030
HANOI, Vietnam — To meet the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), nine major Asian economies must increase the share of electricity they get from renewable energy from the current 6% to at least 50% by 2030, according to a report by a German thinktank released Wednesday.
Nearly a third of that renewable energy should come from wind and solar power, said the report by researchers of Berlin-based Agora Energiewende. A fifth would be hydropower and other clean sources and the remainder, fossil fuels.
The study analyzed energy plans of both developing nations like Indonesia and Vietnam, where demand for energy is growing rapidly, and wealthier places like Japan and South Korea, which have among the highest burdens of per capita greenhouse gas emissions. It did not include China, the world's biggest emitter of carbon, or India, another major contributor.
A global temperature increase of 1.5C (2.7F) since pre-industrial times is considered a critical climate threshold beyond which risks of catastrophes rise. The world will likely lose most of its coral reefs, a key ice sheet could kick into irreversible melt, and water shortages, heat waves and death from extreme weather may surge, according to an earlier United Nations scientific report.
Agora Energiewende researchers found that Asian nations are united in their heavy reliance on fossil fuels and national plans are not aligned with ambitious climate pledges announced by their governments.
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