Renewable energy cheap, in comparison with fossil fuel subsidies

Renewable energy would pay off Stuff,co,nz, ERIC PYLE, 22 Oct 13 “……Even as one of the most heavily industrialised countries in the world, Germany is currently on track to get to 35 per cent renewable sources of electricity by 2030 and 80 per cent by 2050, with CO emissions falling to 30 per cent and 80 per cent below 1990 levels.

A similar story can be told about Australia, where falling electricity generation emissions have more than offset growth in carbon pollution from the transport sector for the past four years.

Research from the Australian Energy Market Operator found Australia could shift towards 100 per cent renewable energy for a similar cost to using fossil fuels.

In addition, analysis by the University of NSW compared the likely costs of pursuing 100 per cent renewable power by 2030 with a range of coal and gas options and found a shift to commercially available clean energy would be cost-effective and relatively low-risk……

The International Monetary Fund is calling for a move away from all fossil fuel subsidies, which it says totalled nearly US$2 trillion (NZ$2.36t) in 2011, or 2.5 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product. This estimate includes direct subsidies and indirect subsidies, such as the environmental costs of using fossil fuels……

The cost of renewable energy policies pale in comparison to the subsidies paid to the fossil fuel industry. In the US it is estimated that the fossil fuel industry has received US$447 billion versus the renewable subsidy of US$6b over the past hundred or so years.

The International Energy Agency estimates that fossil fuel subsidies equate to US$110/tonne of CO pollution.

Globally, fossil fuel subsidies are, at the very lowest estimate, six times those for renewable energy……http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/9309059/Renewable-energy-would-pay-off