Introduction
Environmental awareness has recently become one of the key values addressed by governments, corporations, and social capital across the globe. The question of environmental challenges catalyzed by industrialization and overpopulation was first explicitly stated during the United Nations conference in Stockholm (Niankara & Zoungrana, 2018). Since then, various public and corporate initiatives have been tackled to anticipate and prevent full-scale disasters such as climate change.
Renewable energy sources, encompassing solar and wind energy, and biofuel, have become the most promising solutions in terms of suspending the irreversible process of climate change. Embracing such alternative energy sources not only provides an alternative benefit for the world but presents positive social and economic outcomes for the populations.
Background
For decades, oil, coal, and natural gas have been major sources of energy. However, it became evident at the end of the 20th century that using such resources had been irrelevant for two primary reasons. First, all those natural resources are limited and non-unrenewable, presenting a threat to the future of the population. It has been estimated that the world will run out of oil by the year 2052, natural gas by the year 2060, and coal by the year 2090 (The Millennium Alliance for Humanity & the Biosphere, 2019). Second, the use of such resources presents a severe threat to the global ecosystem, as they stimulate the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. These emissions, for their part, catalyze an unprecedented increase in Earth’s temperatures.
The process of global warming fueled by industrialization and human activity destroys the ozone layer, causes water shortages, unpredictable changes in terms of weather patterns, and extinction of flora and fauna. Moreover, the carbon dioxide release is detrimental to human health, causing such severe issues as increasing rates of infectious and cardiovascular diseases (World Health Organization, 2018). As far as the economy is concerned, the use of natural non-renewable energy sources has resulted in uneven dissemination of economic benefits across the states and social classes. Thus, states that have access to oil wells, coal mines, and natural gas wells are at a significant political and economic advantage compared to other countries that depend on source supply. Thus, the power has become gradually accumulated by a few powerful states that regulate the process of energy supply.
Environmental Impact
The reduction of carbon dioxide is undeniably one of the most significant positive aspects of shifting to renewable energy sources. The reduction of CO2 contributes to pausing the process of unprecedented increase of the surface temperature and higher frequency of natural disasters caused by rapid changes in weather patterns. Currently, studies are being conducted on the matter of transforming the emission of undesirable carbon dioxide into more useful chemicals with the means of solar power (Lingampalli et al., 2017). Hence, renewable energy resources are beneficial in terms of suspending climate change.
Another environmental benefit of renewable energy sources is the preservation of natural resources. To begin with, alternative energy supplies do not alter the environment to such an extent that flora and fauna are unable to adjust to the new environment and eventually become extinct or obtain various diseases. Moreover, the current use of natural sources embraced by plants and industry results in waste spills and water pollution. As a result, natural water pools become contaminated and inappropriate for use by people. Hence, alternative energy sources secure the preservation of the global ecosystem.
Finally, the shift to alternative energy resources secures the mitigation of air pollution. Carbon dioxide, being a greenhouse gas, is trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere until oceans can absorb the pollutants and clean the air (Lenton et al., 2018). However, the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere nowadays exceeds the ocean’s ability to absorb the pollutants. As a result, they remain trapped in the air and pollute it, affecting both the atmosphere and human health. Hence, considering the aforementioned arguments, it may be concluded that alternative energy resources should now be considered not as an option but as an absolute necessity in the battle with climate change.
Social Impact
Social capital plays, by all means, a major role in terms of embracing renewable resources as primary energy supply. While many people believe that switching to solar and wind energy or biofuel is a costly and insignificant endeavor, the social implications of alternative energy are mostly positive. First, alternative energy resources secure local employment, as power plants will no longer be tied to a specific location rich with fossil fuels (Okedu, 2020).
Moreover, if natural resource allocation and use have always been controlled by the governments, embracing renewable energy resources allows for the adoption of the community energy (CE) model. CE stands for “social groups at the local level that generate and distribute renewable energy, holding high degrees of ownership of a CE project, as well as collective benefits” (Soeiro & Dias, 2020, p. 135). Hence, the adoption of alternative energy resources is socially beneficial in terms of employment opportunities and autonomy rates.
Second, renewable energy resources account for better health outcomes for the population. Poor quality of water and air, along with heat-associated stress, contribute to the emergence of various diseases related to the immune, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems (Buonocore et al., 2019). Hence, it is of paramount importance to mitigate the risk of obtaining various diseases with the help of decreasing carbon dioxide emissions through such actions as using fewer cars fueled by natural gas and petroleum.
Third, alternative energy resources present an asset of choice to the consumers. Previously, people had limited options in terms of using energy. Moreover, even if they were aware of the detrimental impact of such energy sources, the autonomous shift to renewable energy was costly and not financially supported by the local governments. Nowadays, the variety of alternative energy sources provides people with the option to choose the most suitable and cost-efficient energy supplier. Moreover, it may provide people with a sense of trust and responsibility that will result in a better perception of renewable energy in general (Segreto et al., 2020). Such a change is of paramount importance to society, as this endeavor contributes to more democratic approaches to energy supply.
Economic Impact
Primarily, it is of paramount importance for the world economy to properly allocate the financial advantage and profits between the states. Previously, the use of non-renewable energy sources contributed to the market monopolization and inability to control the energy prices. However, the gradual shift to alternative energy resources means transformation into a free market where local communities are capable of being in charge of their energy supply. Moreover, opening local alternative power plants accounts for the creation of more jobs in the market. Because the unemployment rates have always been a primary economic issue for the vast majority of countries, new resource allocation may become a tangible resolution of this issue. The economies may also invest the money saved on energy transportation to build local infrastructures.
Finally, the shift to renewable energy improves the overall economy due to the fact that consumers are introduced to a variety of options. Such a modification secures the development of a competitive market that strives for improvement and advantage over the competitors. In the case of non-renewable resources, the competition was not necessary, as the power was centered around a few international energy suppliers who negotiated the profit patterns in advance. Hence, it may be concluded that choosing renewable energy sources will affect the economic landscape positively.
Cost
One of the primary arguments against embracing renewable energy sources is the common belief that such energy is costly in terms of extraction. However, it has been estimated by the International Renewable Energy Industry (IRENA, 2017) that the global GDP is projected to increase significantly when embracing renewable energy resources compared to a reference case. Moreover, the expenses on energy transportation are no longer draining local economies once the countries produce their energy. Undeniably, the shift towards a green economy requires substantial financial investment to acquire the tools necessary for energy production. However, such an investment will pay off in both financial savings in the future and preservation of the ecosystem, which saves money in many ways, including savings on health care.
Conclusion
Renewable energy sources have now become a topic for continuous discussion in the contexts of environmental studies, economics, and society. Having closely considered the three aforementioned paradigms, it may be reasonably concluded that embracing alternative energy sources is beneficial for the environment and battling climate change, social welfare, and the global economy. The issue of cost that intimidates many people when considering a shift towards sustainable energy is insignificant and unjustified compared to the current detrimental impact on the world.
References
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