Should the US Move toward 100% Renewable Energy?

“The ongoing debate around whether it’s feasible to have an electric grid running on 100 percent renewable power in the coming decades often misses a key point: many countries and regions are already at or close to 100 percent now.

According to data compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, there are seven countries already at, or very, near 100 percent renewable power: Iceland (100 percent), Paraguay (100), Costa Rica (99), Norway (98.5), Austria (80), Brazil (75), and Denmark (69.4). The main renewables in these countries are hydropower, wind, geothermal, and solar… In the coming years, emerging and existing technology will work together to bring deeper and deeper penetration of carbon free power into the grid. The only question is no longer ‘if’ but ‘when.’”

“A full energy transition to 100% renewable energy is not only feasible, but also cheaper than the current global energy system… A global transition to 100% renewable energy across all sectors – power, heat, transport and desalination before 2050 is feasible. Existing renewable energy potential and technologies, including storage, is capable of generating a secure energy supply at every hour throughout the year. The sustainable energy system is more efficient and cost effective than the existing system, which is based primarily on fossil fuels and nuclear. A global renewable transition is the only sustainable option for the energy sector, and is compatible with the internationally adopted Paris Agreement. The energy transition is not a question of technical feasibility or economic viability, but one of political will.”

“Climate change is an urgent crisis that’s damaging our economy, our planet, and our children’s future. To prevent the worst impacts, we must achieve a 100 percent clean economy in the United States and other advanced nations by 2050 at the latest, and in the rest of the world soon after. A 100 percent clean economy means we produce no more climate pollution than we can remove.

Achieving this ambitious goal will require policies that guarantee steep reductions in emissions, drive massive investment in clean energy and find ways through nature and technology to remove carbon from the atmosphere. The best science says that we must do all these things.

The reality is that solving this fast enough will take action from Congress. The core policy should be an enforceable, declining limit on climate pollution to ensure that we meet the 100 percent clean goal, achieved through a flexible, market-based approach that creates incentives for businesses and entrepreneurs to find the fastest and cheapest ways to get there. We also need to invest in innovation, reduce barriers to clean energy and energy efficiency, support more resilient farms and forests, and ensure a just and equitable transition for communities throughout America.”

“100 percent renewable energy isn’t a choice. It is our only option. In the fight to ensure that all of our communities have access to clean water, clean air and good paying jobs, we cannot waste time with false solutions. We must invest in a just transition for fossil fuel workers and center the leadership of workers, communities of color and low-income communities who are most impacted by climate change. This is why I co-founded the United for Climate and Environmental Justice Task Force in partnership with Congresswoman Nanette Diaz-Barragán and Congressman Donald McEachin. As an organizer, I’ve seen firsthand that our movements are most formidable when we join forces through intersectional coalitions, which allow us to build our power together instead of fighting separately.

We have the real solutions. 100 percent renewable energy is a call to invest in our future. It is a movement for a better tomorrow. That is why I am an original co-sponsor for the 100 by ‘50 Act, a roadmap to take on climate change and transition away from fossil fuels to 100 percent clean and renewable energy by 2050. We can accelerate this emerging transition by making direct investments in climate resiliency solutions led by communities on the front lines of climate change. We can invest in our workforce to ensure that, as we transition to 100 percent renewables, we are creating high-paying union jobs that will allow workers to provide for their families and retire with dignity. We must provide worker retraining and robust apprenticeship opportunities to equip our workforce with the knowledge and skills to succeed in this new economy.

When we invest in workers, the environment, and the economy, our communities thrive.

We are strongest when we embrace generosity and abundance and lead with kindness and love.”

“When Ben & I started Ben & Jerry’s 40 years, we opened our first shop in a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont. Knowing what we know today about climate change, I take a little bit of pride in having converted a small piece of Burlington’s dirty fossil fuel infrastructure into the birthplace of Ben & Jerry’s.

But the urgency of climate change demands that we move from small incremental steps to a rapid economy wide shift to 100% clean energy. This transition is not only necessary, it’s happening. The only question is whether we will move quick enough to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

When Ben famously said years ago, “if it’s melted, it’s ruined”, he was talking about ice cream but the same is true for our world. I hope you’ll join me in supporting a speedy transition to 100% clean energy now!”

“Moving to 100% renewable energy has huge health ramification outside of climate change and carbon emissions. By limiting the fossil fuels we burn, we prevent cancer in communities living under smokestacks, we drastically reduce the rate of childhood asthma, and perhaps most importantly, we gain energy independence and stop partaking in wars over foreign oil.

100% renewable energy means a healthier, wealthier, and more peaceful United States.”

“Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley have released a new scientific study [of which Jacobson is lead author] that produced 100% renewable energy roadmaps for 139 individual countries, representing more than 99% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. The study’s 27 co-authors show how available solar, wind, and water resources can be rapidly scaled to create a global energy system that relies entirely on clean, renewable energy for all purposes.

The result of such a transition would have many benefits, including:

(1) preventing 4-7 million deaths and hundreds of millions more illnesses each year due to air pollution;

(2) reducing greenhouse gas emissions to near zero, allowing us to avoid many dangerous climate impacts associated with the continued use of fossil fuels;

(3) creating over 24 million more permanent, full-time jobs including the replacement of all jobs lost in the fossil fuel industry;

(4) stabilizing global energy prices while simultaneously reducing energy costs for consumers;

(5) improving energy access to 4 billion people who would otherwise be experiencing energy poverty;

(6) and reducing the risk of terrorism and catastrophic impacts associated with large, centralized energy plants.”

“As a nurse, I see the need for 100% renewables through a human health lens. There are so many ways in which fossil fuels are creating health risks to humans – from the extractive processes and refineries to burning them for energy. Along the way, there are disproportionate risks to workers and fence-line communities, but ultimately we will all be impacted. Increased risk for chronic diseases, including asthma and other respiratory diseases, is the price we are currently paying. Yet the ultimate fossil-fuel consequence – climate change – is truly a global health threat that is already being experienced worldwide. The fact that we have safer and healthier alternatives should make all this a simple decision. We need to frame ‘100% renewables’ as a goal for disease prevention – a goal towards human and ecological health.“

“Getting to a 100% clean energy economy is not only an obligation, it’s an opportunity. We should fully adopt a clean energy future, not just for all of us today, but for our children and grandchildren, so their tomorrow is healthier, safer, and more just.

As president, Biden will lead the world to address the climate emergency and lead through the power of example, by ensuring the U.S. achieves a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions no later than 2050.”