How Countries are Racing Towards Clean Energy

One of the largest debates in the public sector for the past couple of decades is how nations will switch their energy production and consumption to cleaner channels. With citizens becoming ever invested in this debate the pressure surely is on. Here are some countries and ways clean energy is coming into prevalence.

Often stereotyped as the poster-children of renewable energy implementation and governance the Scandinavian countries earn their spot in the limelight. With a common goal in mind of shifting their actions as efficiently as possible towards ESG maximization these countries provide a perfect case to study. The countries of Sweden and Denmark lead the pack. On Sweden's front the nation has the total energy production subsidized by 75 percent hydroelectric and nuclear sources. This is followed by 17 percent wind energy and 8 percent from heat and power sources. Sweden is one of the hallmark countries for totally going “green” in regards to energy production with their target date to be 2040. The nation is also working to get fossil fuels completely out of use within its borders. Denmark follows with 67 percent of its aggregate energy supply coming from renewable sources with most of it attested to wind farms. A similar goal to Sweden, Denmark plans to go completely clean by 2050. Yet, of course no conversation around the path to a renewable energy based world is had without the mention of both China and the United States.

China, while being the leader in carbon emissions in the world, is also the leader in regards to the total quantity of green energy production. The nation possesses the most wind turbines and solar panels in the world. They produce over 70 percent of the global supply of solar energy and is also the largest producer of hydroelectric power. China’s wind production has tripled since 2019 making it seem as if the country is planted to continue its increase in the renewable energy market. Finally, China is also working to clean-up the nation’s heavily polluted air. Moving on we are faced with the United States’ situation. Clean energy production is growing at a faster pace than ever before in the country. Since 2010 this sector of energy production has increased more than two-fold. Most of this energy comes from hydro-power and wind farms. The lowest yielding renewable energy source in the country is solar; however, this energy is its fast growing clean power source. Even though these countries are leaders in production quantity it is still important to recognize the importance of the overall ratio of fossil fuel to clean energy. The path ahead still has much room to walk.

With a goal of cleaning-up our global footprint it is important to understand the countries leading the charge. Learning from their mistakes and their successes we are able to gather a clearer image of the steps necessary to sustain healthy living for generations to come. With an understanding of these conversations comes the emergence of even more questions in mind. Which renewable sources are most efficient? Which renewable sources are safest? What channels must we look down in order to sustain our goals? These are the questions before us and they are the ones we must answer before the time is too late.