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Worldwatch Institute's Energy and Climate Change Program is dedicated to achieving a substantial reduction in the combustion of fossil fuels and a transformation of the global energy system in order to stabilize the climate and increase energy security.
Strong scientific evidence now indicates that the world will need to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the decades ahead in order to avoid catastrophic climate change. Although many still argue that such a transition will be enormously expensive and difficult, Worldwatch research has shown that it would open up vast economic opportunities, spur innovation and job creation, and assist efforts to reduce poverty.
Worldwatch's Energy and Climate Change Program aims to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon energy system based on sustainable use of renewable sources of energy, including wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass, together with major improvements in energy efficiency. The Institute will develop and communicate a strategy for achieving a tipping point at which renewables are less expensive than fossil energy-allowing economic momentum to accelerate the transition.
Achieving the needed energy transformation will require:
- Profound changes in government policies;
- Strengthened global governance in the form of a new international climate agreement; and
- Mobilization of the private sector to develop and deploy a host of new technologies.
Worldwatch's energy and climate program is aimed at all three of these decision-maker audiences, with a particular focus on Brazil, China, Europe, India, and the United States, which together account for 60 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
As the world moves toward a new climate agreement in 2009, Worldwatch is working to inform decision makers of the potential for a low-carbon future and to develop and communicate policies and strategies that can best achieve that goal. The Institute's second major focus is to work with developing countries to increase their capacity to respond to the challenges presented by climate change and to pursue a more viable energy development path.
Featured Publications:
"Building a Low-Carbon Economy" - Chapter 6, State of the World 2008: Innovations for a Sustainable Global Economy
Powering China's Development: The Role of Renewable Energy
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