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/RENEWABLE ENERGIES
Renewable energies and climate change
Renewable energies play a fundamental role, as clean and inexhaustible sources of energy, in the fight against climate change. They are a crucial component of the Kyoto Protocol compliance strategy.
Uranium and fossil fuels resources are limited and a source of elevated contamination, besides only existing in certain regions of the world, a fact that causes some countries to be overly dependent on foreign countries. This is why the future in the energy sources sector shall be directed towards renewable, clean and universally available energies.
Nonetheless, the solution does not only consist of new forms of generating energy. The way in which we consume energy also has to change. We have to foster the more efficient use of energy based, for example, on improved thermal insulation in buildings or the use of more energy efficient equipment. In 2030, according to the forecasts of the International Energy Agency (IEA), global energy needs will have increased by 60% on current levels.
Thus, new technologies and initiatives providing greater efficiency at all levels of the energy chain need to be developed and implemented. The global demand for electricity in 2030 may, according to a study by Ecofys and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), only increase by 30% as opposed to the 60% forecast by the IEA, if such improved efficiency is achieved.