Implications
Environmental
The widespread adoption of renewable energy will have significant impacts on the environment. It has been put forth by the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) that the development of renewable energy will be a key to the mitigation of climate change. This is especially pertinent in light of the fact that fossil fuels provided 85% of the total primary energy in 2008, and the current combustion of fossil fuels accounted for 56.6% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.
Therefore, the widespread switch to renewable energy will have the potential to drastically reduce carbon emissions and slow down global warming. This is especially significant in the case of developing countries in the early stages of industralisation who may emerge to be significant contributors to pollution as exemplified by the case of China.
Mitigating Climate Change
Reduced Pollution
The World Health Organisation estimates that about 3.3 million people die prematurely every year due to air pollution, while a relatively large portion of the population suffer from breathing ailments, heart disease, lung infections and cancer. This is largely due to the fine particles or microscopic dust from coal or wood fires and unfiltered diesel engines, or air pollution caused by industry, transport, household heating and so on. The development of renewable energy is likely to result in the reduction of pollution dramatically together with widespread shift to the use of renewable energy across all industries.
Although it is unlikely that the use of renewable and alternative energy such as biofuels will completely eradicate the issue of pollution (see Disadvantages of Biofuels), the group submits that the pollution levels are likely to ultimately decrease, therefore effectively reducing pollution of the environment through energy consumption.
Health
Increased Energy Access
Up to 58% of health facilities in some sub-Saharan African countries have no electricity which are critical for health procedures such as emergency care and childbirth. Therefore, it is evident that increased energy access especially to off-grid communities can have a significant improvement on their increase to healthcare facilities as well.
Renewable Energy and Health
Renewable energy use in home design and land use planning supports healthier lifestyles -- for example, both active and passive solar design related to heating/cooling, hot water, lighting and ventilation can support healthier homes. For the workforce, shifting to renewable energy may help reduce certain occupational health risks related to fossil fuel extraction and use, such as respiratory diseases from coal extraction and cancers from diesel exposure.
Economic
Job Creation
The renewable energy industry is thought to be more labor-intensive than fossil fuel technologies, and hence on average, more jobs will be created for each unit of electricity generated from renewable sources than from fossil fuels. The International Renewable Energy Agency estimated that gross global renewable energy employment had increased from 1.3 to more than 3.5 million jobs worldwide between 2004 and 2010, and that a high proportion of jobs are related to fuel-based technologies. They also noted that most studies show a positive future for jobs in renewable energy, up to an increase of 20 million jobs by 2030. The simultaneous loss of jobs in the fossil fuels sector pose an issue, but it is believed that an ultimate net increase will be observed following a wider deployment of renewable energy.
Growth and Innovation
The commercialisation of clean energy is likely to lead to continued growth in the reneable energy sector, especially post-Fukushima. The multitude of possible benefits reaped from the adoption of renewable energy is likely to further drive market gains for renewable energy, which may in turn lead to further innovation and development of new technologies. This is further supported by a 2011 projection by the International Energy Agency that solar power generators may produce most of the world’s electricity within 50 years as this optimistic projection indicates the renewable energy sector possibly becoming a key sector in the economy and economic development of various countries.