SCRIPT for Energy [R]evolution slideshow:
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1
Hello, I am X, from Y. I have had a keen interest in Z for W years, and have come today to talk with
you about renewable energy because I believe that V.
In this presentation, I am speaking in my personal capacity and not on behalf of any organisation. This
slideshow was developed by Greenpeace, based on their Energy [R]evolution report which shows the
incredible potential of renewable energy in the next 40 years.
2
But before we start properly, let’s all relax, and do some imagining together…
Imagine a world powered by 100% renewable energy.
3
Imagine if there was never another oil spill…
4
… so our marine life would stay intact, our fishing communities healthy, our oceans clean.
5
One third of the world's population, over 2 billion people – do not have access to electricity.
Imagine if everyone had the energy they needed to lift themselves out of poverty.
6
Imagine if we were able to prevent the worst impacts of climate change – [feel free to mention some
that are relevant to you here] – and keep those that are inevitable to levels we can adapt to.
7
Imagine a world in which human rights issues and international conflicts over oil and other resources
were not flooding our news every day.
8
Imagine a world where you don’t have to pay for oil at the pump again, because the public transport
system is fast and comfortable, because your work and your home are close enough to cycle between,
or because you own an electric car that you charge at home – for much less than the cost of filling a
tank with petrol.
9
Imagine a high-tech society where the energy we use – for electricity, heat, and transport – is
produced in our community, on our rooftops, and where we can control our energy choices locally.
Right now, the vast majority of the energy we use comes from resources that are mined or drilled from
the earth, then shipped or pumped across huge distances to dirty power-plants or refineries that
produce huge amounts of greenhouse gases or radioactive waste.
Imagine a world where none of that polluting infrastructure was necessary.
10
This future is possible. And it is already beginning.
Welcome to the Energy [R]evolution.
The Energy [R]evolution is a practical blueprint for the world's renewable energy future, developed by
Greenpeace International in conjunction with specialists from the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and
the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC), and more than 30 scientists and engineers from
universities, institutes and the renewable energy industry around the world.
This blueprint demonstrates how we can get from where we are now to where we need to be by 2050.
It shows how we can evolve our energy systems, phase out fossil fuels, cut CO2 emissions, and
ensure energy security and access for all.
11
What will the world look like without the Energy [R]evolution?
This is known as the ‘Reference Scenario’. It’s based on the International Energy Agency's 2008 World
Energy Outlook (WEO 2009), extrapolated forward from 2030. The graph shows what the world's
energy demand is predicted to look like without the Energy [R]evolution, including electricity, heat and
transport.
As you can see, without the Energy [R]evolution, the future will remain primarily based on fossil fuels.
Clean energy will only contribute a small amount. When looking at this graph, it is important to
remember that... (go to next slide)
12
“The stone age did not end for lack of stone, and the oil age will end long before the world runs out of
oil.” said by the former Saudi Arabian Oil Minister.
The Energy [R]evolution is about evolution – it’s about changing to better technologies because they
are better, and because we want to improve ourselves, just the way we changed to metal tools
because they were better than stone ones.
13
The Energy [R]evolution scenario was developed to satisfy five core principles:
1 – Ensure fair energy access for all
2 – Respect natural limits on both resources and emissions
3 – Phase out dirty, unsustainable fuels
4 – Use proven renewable solutions, and decentralise energy systems
5 – Increase human wellbeing without fossil fuels
The scientists behind the Energy [R]evolution took these 5 principles and assessed all the technologies
we have available to us now…
14
… and from that, they developed a scenario for each of these ten world regions.
Each area differs vastly in geography, population density, economy and poverty, energy demand, and
types of energy resources – and therefore requires a separate regional scenario.
When you add them all up, the global Energy [R]evolution scenario is the result.
15
<reveal nuclear, coal, oil, gas segments> By 2050, we will no longer need any dirty, deadly nuclear
energy, and we will have phased out coal almost completely. Our oil and natural gas consumption will
be slashed.
<reveal all renewable energy segments> To provide our energy needs – and keep in mind this is not
only for electricity, but also for heating/cooling and transport – we will instead use a host of renewable
energies...
<reveal efficiency segment>... and we will use our energy in smarter, more efficient ways than we do
today. The amount of saved energy via efficiency measures here is compared with the IEA
(International Energy Agency) BAU (Business As Usual) scenario, which projects large growth rates.
However, with an Energy [R]evolution, global energy demand can be stabilized on today's levels – even
with a continued growth of energy demand in developing countries.
In this slideshow,
• First, we will show you how the different technologies in the Energy [R]evolution work and how they
are being used already.
• Second, we will look at the current state of the renewable energy industry worldwide.
• Then we will look at the future – What benefits can we expect from the Energy [R]evolution until
2050?
• And finally, we will look at what we need to do – in our governments, in our homes, in our
communities – to make sure that the Energy [R]evolution becomes a reality.
16
But first things first, let’s talk about “how stuff works”!
17
The Energy [R]evolution rolls out in three main stages.
The first two are 1) increasing Energy Efficiency and 2) increasing Renewable Energy use, both
through large-scale installations and smaller, distributed installations in people's homes and villages. In
most countries, these phases have already started - and, if we can make our governments implement
the right policies, they will continue to move forward in parallel.
[You can include a short example from your own country – a government policy on energy efficiency or
renewable energy that has helped to advance the renewable energy industry.]
However, both approaches have a limits. On their own, they aren't enough to solve the energy problem.
It's hard to become even more efficient, once you have already cut all your electricity and heating
waste. And there’s a limit to how much renewable energy our current electricity grid can handle.
This brings us to the 3rd stage – integration. To take full advantage of the opportunities renewable
energy presents, our ancient electricity grids will need to evolve into flexible 'smart grids' that provide
stable, reliable, 24/7 renewable energy. Instead of having three separate systems for transport,
electricity, and heating/cooling, we create an integrated, total energy system that delivers all three
functions – and gives us maximum efficiency savings through that combination.
Let’s go through each of these stages in turn.
18
Stage 1 - Energy Efficiency is about cutting energy waste – and energy bills – in our homes and offices,
in our transport systems, and in our industries.
Let’s be clear about this: Conserving energy is not about promoting abstinence or 'going back to the
caves' – we can still watch TV, use the internet, travel and heat our houses.* It is instead about using
energy intelligently and mindfully.
Some of the changes we need to make will bring benefits nearly immediately, some within five years.
Others will bear fruit in 10-20 years.
But for all of them, we need to start today.
19
A very fast and simple benefit can come from governments mandating that products such as white
goods, light bulbs, TVs, laptops, etc must pass certain energy rating standards. Such standards can
start fairly low, and then increase predictably over time, giving manufacturers certainty and time to
adjust.
Take the light bulb. Brazil, Venezuela, Australia, and the EU have all passed policies to phase out
incandescent light bulbs, and more countries are following suit, including the US and Russia. It’s a
barely noticeable change for us as individuals, but a big win for the planet.
Or consider this: A global standard to reduce standby power on all appliances to no more than 1 watt
would cut residential electricity use (and electricity bills) by around 8%. And given the quick turnover
rate for white goods and electronics, new standards make a big impact quickly.
20
Mid-term efficiency improvements are all about best practice in building design. Some are simple –
such as improving insulation – others are more complicated:
‘Passive design’ or ‘heat pump’ technology for heating and cooling, evaporative cooling systems –
these are the available technologies that can phase out the need for energy-intensive air-conditioning
or inefficient heating. And often they improve our lifestyles at the same time.
Improvements in design can lead to big savings. Just consider that, in the USA, about 14% of total
electrical consumption is used to air condition buildings. In China, it’s a staggering 20%. (E[R] report,
page 188, references 98 and 100).
As an example for mid-term improvements, look at these pictures showing the heat leakage from two
buildings. The red areas shows where energy is getting out and is wasted.
<First two images> This is an old, inefficiently-designed apartment block in Austria.
<Second set of images> This next picture shows a block of apartments that have been designed for
energy efficiency. As you can see, the corresponding infra-red image shows barely any heat leakage at
all.
<Compare side by side> The people living in this house are using much less electricity, and are paying
much less on their electricity bills.
21
The longest-term effort for improving efficiency is in the transport sector – both improvements in
efficiency of individual vehicles – cars, trucks, buses and trains - and structural changes to make the
transport system overall more efficient and comfortable.
<First image> For example, this is a traffic jam in Beijing. We can do a lot better, with a mix of new
technologies and lifestyle changes. The top priority is good urban design with convenient and
comfortable public transport systems and <Second image> safe cycling routes: If we live close to
where we work and play, then healthy, no-car living becomes possible.
The technological evolution in private vehicles is moving from gas guzzlers, to light cars with efficient
combustion engines, to hybrids, to plug-in-hybrids and finally to electric ‘e-cars’. In some countries, the
acceptance of this technological change will require cultural shifts, so that it’s no longer seen as
desirable to drive a gas-guzzler (like a Hummer).
To reduce aviation demand, technologies like videoconferencing can reduce the need for business
travel, and high-speed trains and cultural shifts so that holidays are closer to home will also be
important.
Creating this sort of cultural change takes time, but it’s vitally important.
22
Overall, the Energy [R]evolution scenario will save 90 Exa-Joule by 2020 – compared to the Reference
Scenario. This is equal to Europe's current total energy demand.
23
Stage 2 - Renewable Energy is about using large scale, central renewable plants, such as wind farms
and geothermal energy, as well as small-scale, de-centralised energy sources, such as solar panels.
Let’s look at the different technologies that make up the Energy [R]evolution and see how they are
used.
24
Wind energy is very flexible. In high wind-speed areas, it comes in the form of gigantic wind farms.
Elsewhere, a single turbine can power a remote community or a single house.
You see a schematic graph of a wind turbine. Most of these turbines have gear boxes, however a
growing number of manufacturers now produce wind turbines without a gear box and a generator
directly connected to the shaft, making electricity production more efficient.
25
A 150kW turbine, small by industry standards, – that’s all Grant and Suzie need to power the entire
wine making process of their Elgo Estate Winery in Australia. In fact, their turbine produces double the
energy they require, saves them $30,000 in bills a year, and saves a tonne of greenhouse gas every
day. That’s what a coal-fired power station would emit for the same amount of energy.
Isn’t it a no-brainer that, if this one piece of equipment can pump out double the power for a
commercial winery, wind offers renewable energy solutions for all manner of business activity and the
electricity grid in general?
26
And then there’s industrial scale production.
This wind farm on the Silk Road is one of the China’s largest wind farms. These 200 wind turbines are
not just providing plenty of energy, but ‘green’ jobs for local workers who once migrated all the way to
Beijing for work, and who can now return home.
You only have to look at this picture and think of some of the recent disasters in coal mines in China to
recognise that green jobs are not only better for the environment, they are also better for workers.
27
This is in Thailand. About 40 low-cost, low-speed turbines provide villagers on Koh Lan Island with an
alternative to expensive and noisy diesel generators for their electricity consumption.
This is Manote Chuansatian, the Thai engineer who has developed this and other low-speed wind
energy systems in Thailand.
28
Solar panels.
Here’s how they work: The red and grey parts you see here are two layers of a silicon semiconductor,
one negatively charged, and one positively charged. When light hits the panel – even just in small
amounts – electrons move from one layer to the other, creating electric current.
Photovoltaic or PV, as this kind of energy production is called, is extremely versatile…
29
…in communities that are connected to the grid, it can make a real contribution.
This house features the UK’s first grid-connected PV system. Built in 1995 by architect Sue Roaf, it
cost no more to build than an average house the same size – but the 48 solar panels have been
producing more electricity than what her house – and her electric car – have used each year, for 15
years. And that’s in Oxford, in the UK – which has a much lower level of sunshine than the world
average.
30
Larger areas can also be covered and connected to the grid – like this roof on the St Moritz Hostel in
Switzerland, where 24 young Greenpeace volunteers were trained in solar installation. The system they
installed was big enough to supply six 4-person households.
31
But small-scale solar power also works without a connection to the grid.
Stand-alone photovoltaic systems present a particular opportunity for people and businesses in poor
and rural areas. Energy produced that way can be controlled and owned by the community, as it is at
this installation in Jalka, India.
These panels power the 10 fans and two computers in these girls’ school. It gives them independence
from the frequent 12-hour power cuts, which occur despite the fact that village is meant to get regular
supply from a coal-fired plant.
32
PV can also power single appliances, like these solar lanterns, which allow sellers in Bhopal, India to
sell their produce after dark, or this Greenpeace-developed “solar chill” refrigerator for distribution of
vaccinations in off-grid rural Africa, Asia and South America.
But all these systems are only one type of solar energy...
33
…this is the other type [of solar energy, not using photovoltaic cells] – known as ‘Concentrating Solar
Power’ or ‘Solar Thermal’ energy.
Here, a massive field of mirrors concentrates sunlight onto a ‘receiving tower’, where it heats liquid
salts, stored in these big tanks. A steam generator transforms the resulting heat into electricity for the
grid.
These tanks allow solar energy to work into the night.
34
This is what it looks like. Here, in Spain, the PS10 Concentrating Solar Power Station produces enough
power to supply a population of 10,000.
35
This alternative design doesn’t use a tower, but a ‘solar field’.
36
Here, it’s in action.
Also in Spain, the Andasol Solar Power Station supplies up to 200.000 people with climate-friendly
electricity and saves about 149,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year compared with a modern coal-fired
power plant.
Seven hours of heat storage keep it running well past midnight without a drop off in power.
37
Concentrating solar can also be used to supply heat – instead of electricity – directly to where it is
used.
This is the world’s biggest solar kitchen, at the Brahma Kumaris temple in Taleti, India, where they
regularly have over 30,000 guests for lunch every day. Concentrating solar power (from Scheffler
Reflectors) heats steam in these pipes, which then <see second image> gets piped directly to boiling
pots in the kitchen.
That’s a lot of curry and rice.
38
'Geothermal' energy means harnessing heat from inside the Earth.
Our planet's core is incredibly hot - 5,500° Celsius (9,930° F) by recent estimates - so it's no surprise
that even the top three metres of the surface stay a nearly constant 10-16° Celsius (50-60° F) all year
round. And if you dig more than 3 km, you reach a layer of hot rocks that is between 250 and 400°C
(480-750 ° F).
39
In the Australian outback town of Innamincka, Leon has been using around 3,000 litres of diesel fuel
every week to run the generators that power the local pub he’s running. Diesel is noisy, dirty and very
expensive, but hopefully redundant soon: deep hot-rocks a geothermal energy system that will power
the whole town is currently under development.
On the other side of the world, Iceland has been using geothermal energy for a long time. This is a
plant near the capital Reykjavik.
Aside from electricity, shallower geothermal 'heat pumps' can bring warmth – or cooling – to the surface
and into buildings. This works nearly everywhere on earth.
40
Take the “Linked Hybrid” development in Beijing.
With over 700 apartments, plus a hotel, commercial and recreation space, this is a leading example of
energy efficient design for urban living.
Water circulating from 100 meters below the ground is pumped through the buildings’ concrete floors,
heating the large complex in winter and cooling it in summer; there are no boilers to supply heat and no
electrical air conditioners.
41
Onto the last of the key technologies…
If both geothermal and concentrated solar power can provide both electricity and heating, then can’t we
get them to do both at the same time, using one piece of technology?
This is known as “Combined Heat and Power”, also known as ‘Cogeneration’.
Now, big power stations throw away two-thirds of the energy they generate as "waste" heat – that’s
energy that could be used to keep buildings warm, or to provide hot water.
The energy input for CHP can come from solar, geothermal energy or sustainable biomass, and it can
be used on a household or neighbourhood scale. While we’re still making the transition from fossil fuels
to 100% renewable energy, natural gas could also be used.
The efficiency of electricity generation and heat generation depends on the scale of the CHP
plants/units and on the needs of the operator. The combined efficiency from electricity and heat is
around 85% and 90%, a huge improvement from producing heat and electricity separately.
42
The Royal Brewery in Manchester, in the UK, is over a century old – but it’s years ahead of its
competitors when it comes to energy use:
A co-generation plant produces almost all of the brewery’s electricity on-site. The resulting heat makes
up over 60% of the steam required for the brewing and packaging process, and the system is fuelled
entirely by biomass, including by-products of the brewing process.
The initiative reduces the brewery’s carbon footprint by 25,000 tonnes per year.
43
These are some of the key renewable energy options that are part of the Greenpeace Energy
[R]evolution report.
[This image is the famous “Nuclear Energy? No thanks!” sticker, in German!]
This is what the scenario doesn’t include:
• Hazardous nuclear energy is totally phased out.
• Carbon Capture and Storage is not included – it’s an expensive distraction from real solutions and the
phase-out of coal.
• Unsustainable biomass – including sources that cause deforestation and sources that take away
resources from necessary food production.
This is what is used in a limited way:
• Sustainable biomass – for example ethanol from sugarcane crop waste, biomass from other
agricultural wastes, or biogas produced from (anaerobic digestion) treatment of human and animal
sewage.
• Ocean or wave energy – but only after further development and reductions in cost.
• Hydropower – however, all further expansion should be small scale with zero flooding, use fishfriendly technology, and shouldn’t result in deforestation for access roads; no rivers should be
destroyed by mega-dams in the name of renewable energy.
44
One last note on technology: This image shows the “Solar Impulse” project, which in July 2010,
completed the world’s first 24-hour solar flight. Powered by a battery charge during the day, the flight
continued through the night.
Upon landing, Dr Bertrand Piccard said “When Solar Impulse took off, it was another era. We land in a
new era, having proof that with renewable energy we can do impossible things.”
Advances in solar-powered air travel have certainly not been included in the Energy [R]evolution, but
who knows, maybe this will become a viable form of transport in the next 40 years? We can’t predict it.
Who in the 1970s – 40 years in the past – would have thought that we could run around with mobile
phones on which you could watch YouTube movies on demand?
The point here is this: Because our scenario only includes technologies that are available today, it is
nearly certain that it will be surpassed by the time we reach 2050.
And if you have learnt one thing from this section, it's that there isn't a single, easy solution to evolving
into a clean energy system and phasing out fossil fuels – we need all the options that we have
available.
Now, let’s look at what more we need, once efficiency and renewable energy technologies have both
been developed to their maximum…
45
…that’s stage 3: the smart grid.
Our current electricity grid is big, simple, and inflexible. They produce huge amounts of electricity at a
small number of places and distribute it over very long distances. It’s wasteful, it's inefficient, and we
can do it better and smarter.
What we need is a flexible grid that delivers energy – both electricity and heat – from multiple,
distributed points of production to where it is needed. It will require a network of smart monitoring that
enables us to adapt quickly to changes in wind-speed, sunshine, and energy demand. The smart grid
will also need to incorporate charging stations for electric vehicles as transportation becomes
electrified.
Like conducting an orchestra, the elements of a new grid will have to fit together perfectly. Coordinating
and integrating a smart new network won’t happen overnight. The good news is: We still have time to
plan the systems, while we increase renewable energy up to the point our existing grid begin to
struggle (to about 20%).
Here’s one example how a smart grid could work…
46
• Homes with solar panels for electricity and hot water, as well as local combined heat-and-power units,
would produce more energy than they need, and provide their excess energy and heat produced during
the day…
• …to office buildings in cities, which would also produce some of their own electricity and hot water
during the week. In evenings and on weekends (when the offices are mostly empty) the energy and
heat would be transferred to other areas.
• A wind-farm, either on or offshore, can feed large amounts of electricity into a flexible grid to ensure
that there is still energy when the sun isn’t shining.
• Another community might be totally self-sufficient and have its own, local micro-grid, which will only
connect to the larger grid in the event of a local energy shortage.
• A central combined heat-and-power plant could run on concentrating solar, geothermal, biogas
produced from a city’s local sewage plant, or from biomass feedstock from local farmers’ crop waste.
This would supply both electricity and heat to the grid...
• …for use in domestic houses, for people’s plug-in electric vehicles, and for industrial processes.
Industrial plants (which could also include urban industries such as server-farms or data-centres for the
internet) will produce as much of their own energy as possible, and re-cycle their waste heat into their
own heating/cooling processes and into the heating network.
The most important thing to note is that energy production happens everywhere in the community, not
just at a central coal or nuclear-fired power-station that everyone draws on.
If you want an analogy, think of the internet. In the early days of the web, information came from
centralized sources and travelled one-way – from websites to readers. Today, with social media and
easy online publishing, readers are publishers too. They’re sending information the other way; the web
has become interactive.
The same will have to happen with energy.
Merge the logic of the internet with the energy network, and you get the kind of smart grids we need in
order to accommodate the combination of decentralised and centralized renewable energies the
Energy [R]evolution champions. Without smart grids, trying to share decentralised energy would be a
bit like trying to post a status update without having Facebook or Twitter.
47
By now, you know how the Energy [R]evolution works in theory. You’ve seen where it has already
started. Time for some impressive statistics. This next section will show that local examples aren’t just
isolated, one-off events – they are part of a wave of momentum that is carrying this [R]evolution
forward.
48
These figures show that, of all the electric power capacity installed in Europe in 2009, more of it came
from renewable energy than from dirty energy – for the second year in a row. In Europe, at least, the
Energy [R]evolution has started.
49
This graph shows the same installed energy in 2009 [top] as well as the ‘decommissioned capacity’
[bottom] – that’s plants that were closed down, rather than opened.
As you can see, a large amount of coal-fired capacity was removed in Europe.
In fact, more coal-fired power was removed than installed. In 2009 – for the first time ever – the amount
of installed coal-fired power capacity decreased.
This is great news for the Energy [R]evolution, But remember: it only happened in Europe, and only in
this one year. We need to have this sort of transition happen everywhere in the world - and we need it
to happen faster.
Hopefully someday soon, this yellow ‘up’ bar [on the right in the big circle] for new coal installations will
be marked: zero.
50
But let’s look at some more good news.
Here are the countries that are leading the way in supporting renewable energy: China has the most
renewable energy installed in the world.
In terms of new investment, according to REN21, Germany and China were the investment leaders in
2009, each spending roughly $25–30 billion on new renewables capacity, including small hydro. The
United States was third, at approximately $15 billion. Italy and Spain followed with roughly $4–5 billion
each.
51
Since 2004, the annual investment in renewable energy capacity has increased by more than 700%.
These growth rates – of over 30% per year – are in line with what Greenpeace first projected for the
first Energy [R]evolution scenario in 2007.
They tell us very clearly that business-as-usual itself is changing.
To keep the Energy [R]evolution scenario on track, growth rates have to remain at these rapidlyincreasing levels for another decade until they reach up to US$600 billion per year, and then increase
more modestly for the next 40 years.
52
We already touched on the issues of jobs. Here are the figures:
Today, there are over 3 million jobs worldwide in the renewable energy industry.
Considering the dangers of work in the dirty fuel industries – respiratory health problems of coal
miners; the risk of radioactive exposure in the nuclear industry; low or dubious compliance with
environmental and worker-safety regulations by the oil and coal industries – the creation of green jobs
in renewable energy will yield direct benefits for the health and wellbeing of workers worldwide
53
So that is a snapshot of the renewable energy now. What will it look like towards 2050?
If we keep the Energy [R]evolution on track, we will go a long way to reducing the impacts of climate
change. We will phase out our reliance on polluting, and ever-more-expensive, fossil fuels and restore
the local environments of communities that are currently affected by fossil and nuclear fuel extraction
and pollution. We will create millions of new green jobs and ensure secure local energy supply. And
community-managed energy will big a massive step towards alleviating poverty…
54
Think of technological evolution – and the benefits it has brought our society in the past.
We moved from ink-and-feather writing to typewriters, and now to laptops, email and smartphones.
Each new technology replaced the previous one, and while the people employed in the older industries
would have changed their jobs, each new technology brought with it human progress and created
opportunities for new jobs in new industries, as well as greater access to information for all – and whole
new ways of communicating.
Just like these changes, and many other technological shifts in the past, the transition from dirty fuels to
renewable energy will be a gradual process.
We now have the opportunity to plan the next 40 years to 2050 – and if we do it properly, governments,
industry and trade unions can work together to create new job opportunities in communities that are
currently based around fossil fuels, and start programmes for re-training workers around new skills.
That way we’ll achieve the ‘Just Transition’ that workers around the world deserve, as well as amazing
technological progress.
55
And under the Energy [R]evolution, there will be more jobs.
By 2030, there will be over 8.5 million people employed in the renewable sector, compared to only 2.4
million in the scenario without any technological evolution. Jobs in the energy sector overall, including
workers in conventional power plants, will increase to 11.9 million – greater than the 8.7 million jobs in a
conventional scenario.
So, if governments seize the opportunity to implement the Energy [R]evolution, 3.2 million or over 33%
more jobs globally will be created in the power sector, and most of those jobs will be better for workers
and for the climate.
56
Another key benefit of the Energy [R]evolution between now and 2050 will be lower fuel costs.
[On the left] The blue line shows the IEA forecast increase in oil and coal prices to the consumer – this
means the amount that you pay at the pump and on your electricity bills.
The green line shows the costs to the consumer under the Energy [R]evolution scenario. As you can
see, if we keep the Energy [R]evolution on track, the costs for renewable energy will be lower than the
costs for fossil fuelled energy after 2020 – since there are no fuel-extraction costs, only those for
operation and maintenance.
When we add up the savings across the economy, we get the graph on the right, which shows society’s
overall expenditure on electricity supply. You can see that up to 2030, society will spend more on
renewable energy in total than it would under the reference scenario, as we invest in infrastructure. But
from 2030 onwards, when fossil fuel prices are projected to keep increasing, the Energy [R]evolution
saves more than one trillion dollars in energy costs annually.
But not only does the Energy [R]evolution save money…
57
…we will also save a lot of carbon dioxide emissions.
This graph shows that, under the Energy [R]evolution scenario, the carbon dioxide pollution from the
energy sector will have decreased by more than 95% by 2050 from the business-as-usual scenario.
That’s in line with what scientists tell us needs to happen in order to avoid irreversible, runaway climate
change.
58
Our CO2 emissions per capita – shown here in each of the ten world regions – will move from their
current uneven and unfair distribution to one which achieves fair per-capita emissions from the energy
sector across the world.
The Energy [R]evolution assures energy access in an equitable way – increasing energy access for the
world's poor, but in such a way that doesn't destroy the climate.
Those who are today in ‘energy poverty’ will ‘leapfrog’ the destructive fossil-fuelled phase that today’s
industrial economies have been through, and will instead move straight to renewable sources of energy
access.
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[Recommended for business/industry/government audiences only]
Without the [R]evolution, the investment volume or market size will be 11.2 trillion dollars until 2030.
With the Energy [R]evolution, the energy sector will be US$6.7 trillion larger, with US$17.9 trillion
dollars invested until 2030, and with a greater proportion of that investment in the renewables sector.
This means a lot more energy jobs, and a larger and more stable investment potential for the energy
sector.
When making investment choices in the energy industry now, we need to consider which of these
scenarios we wish to contribute to, and which is more beneficial – for investors in the short term, for
energy workers in the coming decades, and for the climate for all future generations.
In 2009, despite a global recession and the financial crisis, the global wind power market grew by an
incredible 41.5%, and more grid-connected solar capacity was added than even in the boom year of
2008. The total level of annual investment in clean energy was $145 billion in 2009.
Renewables are a safe investment.
With catastrophes like the oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico and Dalian in China, decreasing oil supplies
driving the search for new and unconventional oil sources, the beginning of carbon pricing, and with
increased social unrest surrounding the expansion of dirty fossil and nuclear industries, dirty energy no
longer makes a responsible investment choice – they are risky for investors as well as risky for the
environment.
The benefits of the Energy [R]evolution are clear – for workers, jobs, investors, energy access for those
currently without energy, global equity, and the for climate…
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… so what we have to do now, to make all this a reality?
We have to build the momentum, and we have to keep it going. And everyone has a role to play.
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Governments (local and national) must:
1. Phase out all fossil and nuclear subsidies - Stop putting taxpayer money into fossil fuels and
nuclear energy.
2. Put an effective price on carbon. We need internalise the external (social and environmental)
costs of energy production, so that we pay the required financial cost for pollution.
3. Support efficiency by: mandating strict efficiency (and stand-by power) standards for all
energy-consuming appliances, buildings and vehicles, and by supporting ‘pay as you save’ programs,
or other financial incentives like reduced tax on efficiency installations, to help people and businesses
pay for the up-front cost of equipment that will save money in the long term.
4. Establish legally binding targets for renewable energy and combined heat and power generation –
to send a clear signal to industry.
5. Reform electricity markets by guaranteeing priority access to the grid for renewable power
generators.
6. Provide defined and stable returns for investors, for example by feed-in tariff programmes.
7. Increase research and development budgets for renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The crucial thing to recognise is that governments aren’t going to do all of this on their own, just
because it’s a good idea. We need to educate them, apply political pressure so that these changes
happen faster, and then hold them to account…
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… and that is why you see Greenpeace and other groups organising events, protests and
demonstrations like this. In addition to scientific research and government policy lobbying work,
Greenpeace takes creative, non-violent and peaceful direct action to raise the quality of public and
political debate and to draw attention to environmental destruction and government inaction.
1.This image shows the launch of a Greenpeace ship tour to promote clean energy and oppose coal
shipments in the Philippines.
2.At this event in Thailand, Greenpeace helped villagers install solar power on two school buildings
3.Here, in Indonesia, hundreds of local residents created a human banner with a wind turbine and the
statement ‘Clean Energy Now’ on the site of a proposed nuclear power plant.
4.In Europe, in the Netherlands, activists placed a wind turbine at the residence of the Prime Minister.
The banner translates as "Government strangles green energy“, in protest to backwards energy policy.
5.This image from 1991 shows Greenpeace in protest in the Alaskan arctic, blocking a tanker berth in
Valdez.
6.And in 2010, the struggle to save the Arctic from oil drilling and risk of massive spills still goes on –
this shows trained Greenpeace climbers who stopped Cairn Energy from drilling the first ever oil wells
off Greenland for over 40 hours.
7.Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, these activists covered themselves in molasses in protest
to an expansion of oil extraction in Canada, calling for renewable energy policy instead…
8.…just like this flash-mob for the launch of Greenpeace Thailand’s ‘Smart power’ project
We need much more of this dramatic, impossible-to-ignore activism if we are going to create the huge
political changes that we need. But there are many other ways that each of us can take action in our
daily lives…
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…there are all sorts of things that you can do at home, at work, and in your community.
1. ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world’ – that famous Mahatma Ghandi quote! Increase the
energy efficiency of your home and invest in green energy – either by producing your own energy or
asking your electricity provider to provide Green Energy.
2. Learn – this presentation definitely doesn’t have all the information. Find a few books on future
energy and learn more about it, or find a local group to discuss, debate and get some hands-on
practical experience.
3. Call your politicians. Or write them a letter, or if you’re really brave, make an appointment to meet
with them and tell them what you want. They work for you and your community, and they need to know
that citizens support them taking strong action for the Energy [R]evolution.
4. Join the crew of a Greenpeace ship! Greenpeace has just launched a new ship, the SV Energy
[R]evolution, and on this one, everyone can be a crew member. But before you start packing your
waterproofs, you should know that this ship is a little different – it’s online. But just like the physical
ships, it's on a mission to rid the world of dirty energy like oil, coal and nuclear power and set a course
for a future fuelled by the sun, wind, and renewable energy.
[You can tailor this link to say ‘Become a cyberactivist with Greenpeace and X’ - Feel free to also
mention your local campaigns here, in addition to Greenpeace, and include links.]
5. Download the iPhone app – for all you technophiles out there with iPhones, you can download the
Energy [R]evolution app so that you can have all of the data from the Energy [R]evolution on hand
when you need it.
6. If you are able, you can ensure that the research and advocacy work of Greenpeace and other
organisations continues by making a financial contribution.
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Solving climate change isn’t only for activists or engineers – we can all take simple action where we
work, and in our careers.
Whether you’re a hairdresser, a carpenter, a theatre technician, a doctor, a teacher, a musician, or an
accountant – there is a role for you.
1. If you (or your children) are choosing a course of study for ongoing work, consider a green career,
or even just a few courses which can tailor your future career towards the emerging green economy –
environmental law, carbon accounting, economics, science, engineering, social studies, sustainable
development, climate politics and international relations.
2. Efficiency at work – ask for an energy audit of the office or your campus.
3. Join together with other employees or students to ask your administration to choose renewable
energy – it is also good publicity for the organisation.
4. Ask your union what they are doing about green jobs and just transitions, and get involved.
5. If you have no idea where to start in your industry, just 'Google it'… sustainable carpentry,
environmentally-friendly fish-and-ship shop, carbon-neutral hairdressing, eco-office administration,
carbon auditing, renewable energy education – you’ll be surprised what turns up and what ideas are
already out there for your industry. Get in contact with the pioneers in your industry and see what you
can replicate at your work.
6. Present this slideshow to your colleagues – you can download it from the Greenpeace website.
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It’s important to remember that it isn’t always easy to take personal action at home or at work – you
can’t give up your car and use public transport or cycle if local public transport and cycling lanes are
inadequate. And you can’t purchase renewable energy if there are no renewable energy businesses in
your area.
These big, systemic blocks to personal action are too big for each of us to change on our own.
So this is where community action comes in – let’s tackle the problem together. All of us, aside from
being members of our family and our organisations, are also citizens and members of our broader
community.
To help spread knowledge about renewable energy and counter the disinformation spread by fossilfuelled industries, and to create local and national policy change, there are lots of things you can do.
You can:
1.
Run hands-on events – invite the community groups and clubs that you’re involved in to
participate.
2.
Take citizen action – join a local group who advocate for local and national policy change, or
who initiate practical, local, community-run renewable energy projects.
3.
Dirty energy is still expanding – in addition to promoting renewable energy, we also need to
slow down and stop dirty energy. You can take citizen action – join or support a group that is
resisting expansion of coal, oil and nuclear energy in your community or in your country – both by
doing citizen political lobbying and by taking direction action.
4.
Educate your community by sharing this presentation and relating it to local issues in your
community.
5.
In your communities, get busy communicating – talk about energy issues with your friends
and family, ask people what they think about renewable energy. Share the facts from this presentation.
Write letters to the editor and help shape to the public debate.
And finally, in your community groups you can and should celebrate the progress that we all achieve
through our campaigns in making the Energy [R]evolution a reality. By being part of community action,
we can support each other and feel that we are making a difference together.
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[Write your own conclusion.]
EG:
All this is what we have to do today, to achieve the Energy [R]evolution. It's time to get to work! In
conclusion, from this presentation, I hope you can see that.
- Renewable Energy is possible – technically and economically – and it is a better option than the fossil
fuelled future that we are currently heading towards
- Renewable Energy is already growing rapidly, we just need to keep it on track.
- It is up to all of us to get involved