The use of fossil fuels has an impact on all of us in some way. It pollutes the air and affects our health by releasing toxins into the atmosphere. It also contributes to climate change by releasing greenhouse gases, resulting in more severe storms, floods, and heat waves. Our reliance on fossil fuels has the potential to alter ocean pH, deplete oxygen in lakes, and reduce crop yields.
It is undeniable that we require energy, but this energy does not have to be produced through the combustion of fossil fuels. On the one hand, the detrimental effects of our existing energy choices, and on the other, the opportunity that clean energy sources offer, we are at a vital decision point.
We have the option of extending our reliance on fossil fuels, so increasing the negative effects on our health and the environment. Alternatively, we can choose to embrace and invest in new and healthier options while letting go of some of our old preferences and behaviors. This might mean that, in the next decades, all road vehicles will be electric, all roofs will be covered with solar tiles, all buildings will be insulated to minimize heat loss, and all products will be made to last longer and be readily re-used and recycled. Subsidies for fossil fuels could be phased out as well. Despite repeated vows and appeals on international platforms to phase out such subsidies within a decade, many governments continue to do so.
The political commitment to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions has grown over the last decade, culminating in the Paris Agreement of December 2015. Local and regional governments, businesses, investors, and citizens are coming out and declaring a commitment to a low-carbon society, even in nations where political leaders are skeptical of global initiatives. Similarly, in the recent decade, researchers and entrepreneurs have come up with inventions that have propelled solar and wind power generation to levels far above anyone’s expectations. Wind and solar energy have been able to compete in price with power from other sources because to technology advancements and strong regulatory assistance, including financial incentives.
As a result, clean renewable energy sources are meeting a growing portion of Europe’s energy needs. Renewable energy has been and will continue to be critical not only for meeting Europe’s long-term climate and energy goals, but also for environmental and human health protection.