Ramping Up Renewable Energy

For the past year, the World Bank has been researching what it would take for the world to substantially reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere, says World Bank Energy Economist Gary Stuggins.

The research, requested by G-8 leaders after the Gleneagles Summit last July, has focused on the potential for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired plants in China, India, and to a lesser extent, the potential for energy efficiency potential in Russia, as these countries are among the world’s major producers of carbon dioxide emissions.

The analysis is finding that renewable energy technology may be able to take the place of fossil fuels more quickly than previously believed as higher energy prices make these technologies more attractive. Already some renewable technologies, such as wind power, are economically viable, Stuggins says.

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