Noted environmental scientist, Alessandro Bazzoni, has long spoken about the poor choices made by developed nations when it comes to electricity generation, which according to him, is the main reason for growing air pollution worldwide.
“We ourselves are responsible for polluting our air, land, and water. In a world where most of our electricity is generated using coal, nuclear, or other non-renewable power plants, we just can’t think of a sustainable future for our younger generations. Energy production from these resources inflicts irreversible damage to our environment,” says Alessandro Bazzoni, in an interaction that focuses on what mankind can do to get things right for our future generations.
“We know that renewable energy sources have fewer environmental impacts and can help us produce electricity but we have long chosen to ignore them. This is extremely selfish on our part and highly frustrating for people like me. We, and I mean each one of us, need to make huge noise so that our governments get serious about this. We all have to wake up before it is too late and the pandemic only emphasizes that it is now, or never kind of a situation,” warns Alessandro Bazzoni.
“Thankfully, I can see some hope,” he adds before explaining how the Coronavirus pandemic pressed pause on the world, but not the energy industry. Energy being at the core of everything: keeping hospitals running, ensuring that there’s food on supermarket shelves, and forming the main ingredient in society’s fightback against Coronavirus. Therefore, it would be illogical for governments and corporations to pursue anything other than strategic, resilient, green economic growth. A sustainable economic recovery and creating futureproofed jobs is the right response to the challenges unleashed by COVID-19.
In light of climate change and its associated impacts, a global transition to low carbon energy is underway with renewable energy at the forefront. Related technologies are becoming more efficient and falling in costs; some renewable energy forms like solar PV and onshore wind are now at (or approaching) cost-parity with fossil fuels. The heat sector, for example, is likely to see further deployment of solar water heating, biomass-fuelled burners, and direct geothermal heating.
Renewable energy is expected to continue expanding as costs come down, innovative technologies are commercialised, and environmental drivers strengthen. In order to meet long-term climate and sustainability goals, renewable energy deployment must accelerate in all sectors, enabled by policy and markets.
“I have observed a rapid shift in entrepreneurs and large corporations alike regarding their approach to energy. It is no longer viewed as an outsourced product, but instead is integral to their outreach, identity, and their stakeholder community as a whole. This change in discourse is evidence of the green revolution in action,” elaborates Alessandro Bazzoni.
The race for renewable energy is shaping global politics. I commend the work of the various national, transnational, and international bodies in driving decarbonisation. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister has set goals to ensure that, within the decade, the UK will be at the forefront of the green industrial revolution. These bold ambitions and clear targets form the right signals at exactly the right time. They will encourage long-term investment and innovation from the renewables industry, and they will boost employment and economic benefits right across the UK. I am glad to be a part of this movement,” says Alessandro Bazzoni.
The green revolution has now gathered so much momentum, with net-zero goals enshrined in law in a number of nations, what once looked impossible now seems inevitable.
When it is possible to make electricity from renewable energy sources without producing CO2, we should be doing it and not contributing to the leading cause of global climate change,” concludes Alessandro Bazzoni.