Research from the University of Oxford has revealed that just 10 per cent of the world’s power companies are actively investing in and prioritising renewables over fossil fuels.
According to the report, which was based on a global analysis of the progress and failure of electric utilities to adapt their portfolios of power generation assets to the energy transition, majority of the power companies are based in Europe.
The study, which examined over 3,000 global energy suppliers, also uncovered that 60 per cent of the majority were still mainly investing in fossil fuels, despite little efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
It revealed that 10 per cent were seen to be promoting growth in gas-fired plants, although these were mainly in the United States where firms are looking to utilise the country’s surplus shale gas.
Lead researcher and author of the report, Galina Alova, highlighted how the lack of green initiatives from the majority of suppliers was “hindering” wider global efforts to tackle climate change.
Alova said that firms needed to curb their continuing investment in fossil fuel facilities to meet key climate targets.
“So, utilities are still dominating the global fossil fuel business. And I’m also finding that quite a significant share of the fossil fuel-based capacity owned by utilities has been added in the last decade, meaning that these are quite new assets.
“But for us to achieve the Paris climate agreement goals, they either need to be retired early, or will need carbon capture and storage, otherwise they’re still here to stay for decades,” Alova said.
Britain recently made great strides in renewable energy with a record-breaking coal-free run in energy generation.
Switching to a green energy supplier could be a smart move, not only can it help in the fight against climate change, it also makes the markets more competitive and could start encouraging other suppliers to go greener, it added.
