In recent years, the growth of investments in renewable energy sources has increased significantly. “Record clean energy spending is set to help global energy investment grow by 8% in 2022” (IEA, 2022). Funding towards solar, wind, nuclear, geothermal, and hydroelectric power, etc. is increasing among businesses across the U.S. and the globe in an attempt to reduce carbon emissions and increase sustainability in manufactured products. Yet, despite this increase, there is a current lack of understanding of the importance of renewable energy, and the reasons why expanding investments in renewable energy is necessary.
Renewable energy sources are resources that replenish over time, making them much better for the environment than fossil fuels and other current energy sources. Nik Gestrich, a current Lane Tech student who studied Advanced Placement Environmental Science (APES), finds that, as a youth and student, he believes switching to renewable energy is a necessary step to help mitigate global carbon emissions. Gestrich states “renewable energy is important due to its ability to positively impact the environment through reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change overall. However, despite these benefits, without increased use of renewable energy sources as replacements for environmentally detrimental forms of energy, the change we need to see in the environment won’t happen. In order to decrease our reliance on non-renewable energy, I believe that increased funding and investments made to support renewable energy is necessary as it will help promote the shift in energy sources that our environment needs.” Gestrich isn’t the only one who notices the importance of investing in renewable energy as in the last decade “Renewable energy drew more than $2.6 trillion in investment from 2010 to 2019” (Bloomberg, 2019). Renewable energy investments continuously increase as society starts to understand the importance its implications can have on the environment.
Anne Morrissey, who is an investor at GAMCO, understands the importance of increasing investments into renewable energy. Morrissey states that “most modern-day problems in society only have one feasible answer: to invest in the solution. Investments give movements such as increasing the usage of renewable energy an actual platform to create a shift in the way we will use energy in the future.” Although the shift towards using renewable energy is necessary to help control aspects of climate change, the consensus among researchers and investors is that renewable energy currently isn’t a feasible source to be implemented everywhere. Increased investment could help make renewable energy more feasible.
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