#Goal7: #AffordableEnergy and #CleanEnergy
Updated: Nov 3, 2018
Image credit: Indigo Skies Photography
Australia is very fortunate in its access to energy resources. Maybe even too fortunate.
The World Bank puts Australia at number seven in terms of energy consumption per capita. Only 14 percent of this energy comes from renewable sources. Australia’s energy consumption is not only rather excessive but quite unclean too.
Some countries around the world have announced a commitment to 100% renewables before 2030.
The Australian Capital Territory has made a similar commitment, promising to achieve 100% renewables by 2025.
Image credit: Kate Auburn
Investing in renewable energy is a smart option. Sources of non-renewable energy, as the name suggests, will eventually be depleted. Renewable energy will not run out – the use of this kind of energy can be sustained into the future.
Investing in renewable energy quite often means more local jobs and a boost to the economy as sources of renewable energy are usually located in close proximity to the cities and towns to which they supply energy.
There is, of course, also the environmental impact – renewable energy is clean energy and does very little if any harm to the environment compared to its non-renewable counterparts.
This is why the Global Goals are focused on ensuring affordable and clean energy for all. This includes affordable and reliable access to modern energy services. It also includes substantially increasing the share of renewable energy in the energy mix. With only 14% of renewables, Australia has a long way to go.
The Global Goals also aim to double the rate of improvement in energy efficiency. Climate Works Australia estimates that “improving the energy efficiency of Australia’s commercial buildings could save $2.3 billion per year across the national economy while cutting emissions by 23 million tonnes per year.” Climate Works Australia also estimates that “purchasing high efficiency appliances at the time of natural replacement can cut [Australian] household energy bills by $471 million per year while saving over 2 million tonnes of emissions per year.”
Image credit: 100% Renewable
How do we achieve all this?
We must enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology as well as promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology. This investment must lead to an expansion in infrastructure as well as an upgrade of the technology.
We must also focus on our Indo-Pacific neighbours, in particular, least developed countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries. Many people in these countries don’t have access to affordable energy services. The small island developing States are also at risk of being submerged by rising sea levels if we do not reduce carbon emissions to reverse the impacts of global warming by 2030.
If you are passionate about affordable and clean energy in Australia and in our neighbouring countries, check out “Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy” and head over to our “What Can I Do?” page to see how you can become involved in achieving the Global Goals!
This article was originally published on the Global Goals Australia Campaign website.