But the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that to achieve that level, governments would have to spend significantly more money and introduce policies that integrate renewables into existing power grids and promote their benefits in terms of reducing air pollution and improving public health.
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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that further development of renewable energy will require investments of $1.5 trillion by 2020. ((CBC))
Authors said the report concluded that the use of renewables is on the rise and their prices are declining. With the right policies, the report said, they will be an important tool both in tackling climate change and helping poor countries use the likes of solar or wind to develop their economies in a sustainable fashion.
"The report shows that it is not the availability of the resource but the public policies that will either expand or constrain renewable energy development over the coming decades," said Ramon Pichs, who co-chaired the group tasked with producing the report.
"Developing countries have an important stake in this future — this is where 1.4 billion people without access to electricity live, yet also where some of the best conditions exist for renewable energy deployment."
Governments endorsed the renewable report Monday after a four-day meeting. The nonbinding scientific policy document is to advise governments as they draw up policies and to help guide the private sector as it considers areas in which to invest.
Trillions of dollars in investments needed
The IPCC warned that further development of the renewable energy sector will require significant investment in the next two decades of as much as $1.5 trillion by 2020 and up to $7.2