Speeding Up Green Energy Investments Could Give Economy £80tn Boost by 2050

A new report has found that investments into renewable energy could spur a post-coronavirus economic recovery in global GDP to the tune of £80tn by 2050.

Aside from helping to tackle the global climate crisis, there are huge economic benefits to increasing investment in green energy, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

Francesco La Camera, the agency’s director general, said that the current economic crisis induced by the COVID-19 pandemic revealed ‘the deep vulnerabilities of the current system’ and called on governments to galvanise economic growth by making investments in renewable energy.

The report also found that not only would accelerated investment in renewable energy help the global climate emergency, but the investment would effectively pay for itself.

An investment into renewable energy could return between $3 and $8 dollars on each dollar invested. By 2050, this could mean GDP gains of almost $100tn above the current scenario.

The report also claims that there would also be a quadrupling of jobs in the sector over the next 30 years, and global welfare and health scores would also be significantly improved.

“Governments are facing a difficult task of bringing the health emergency under control while introducing major stimulus and recovery measures,” said La Camera.

“By accelerating renewables and making the energy transition an integral part of the wider recovery, governments can achieve multiple economic and social objectives in the pursuit of a resilient future that leaves nobody behind”.

Specifically, increased investment in green hydrogen could help mitigate the effects of heavy industry and transport to reach net-zero by 2050. Hydrogen burns cleanly and can replace gas in cement and steel making.

The chief executive of the World Resources Institute Andrew Steer, said: “As the world looks to recover from the current health and economic crises, we face a choice: we can pursue a modern, clean, healthy energy system, or we can go back to the old, polluting ways of doing business. We must choose the former”.

The chairman and CEO of the Spanish renewables giant Iberdrola which owns Scottish Power, Ignacio Galán, said his company would keep investing billions in renewable energy and its peripheral industries.

“A green recovery is essential as we emerge from the Covid-19 crisis. The world will benefit economically, environmentally and socially by focusing on clean energy,” said Galán.

“Aligning economic stimulus and policy packages with climate goals is crucial for a long-term viable and healthy economy”.