Citibank: How Investments in Clean Energy Can Save Trillions - Energy Manager Today

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Green Political Economy, Investment, Climate Change, Severity Level 5, Economic Collapse

> http://www.energymanagertoday.com/citibank-investments-clean-energy-can-save-trillions-0116790/ <http://www.energymanagertoday.com/citibank-investments-clean-energy-can-save-trillions-0116790/>
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> Citibank: How Investments in Clean Energy Can Save Trillions
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> October 13, 2015 By Karin Rives <http://www.energymanagertoday.com/columnists/karin-rives/>
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> Karin Rives
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> Editorial Manager, Environmental Defense Fund
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> A number to remember: $44 trillion. It’s what Citibank estimates that climate change will cost the global economy by 2060 unless we take decisive steps to rein in greenhouse gas emissions.
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> To put the number in perspective, that is roughly the combined gross domestic products of the United States, China and the European Union.
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> But the banking giant’s recent forecast <https://www.citivelocity.com/citigps/ReportSeries.action> also offers a financially attractive way forward.
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> The Citi researchers estimated what our energy-hungry world will spend on conventional power infrastructure and procurement over the next several decades. They then compared that with what it would cost to instead develop low-carbon energy sources to meet rising demand from especially developing nations.
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> Their conclusion: By transitioning to a clean energy economy we will, in fact, save an estimated $1.8 trillion by 2040.
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> This number, of course, only tells part of the story. Investments in clean energy <https://www.edf.org/climate/cleanenergy> will bring an array of other benefits, not the least of which are new markets, industry growth and more jobs – all of which will fuel the economy and boost GDPs.
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> So why is the Citibank report important? Because it gives us numbers that can help us move the needle forward at a very critical time.
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> Clean vs. Dirty Energy: The Numbers
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> A business-as-usual scenario where macroeconomics are driving demand for energy and fuel needs are driven by short-term planning would result in an energy bill for the world of $192 trillion over the next 25 years, Citibank estimates. That’s in addition to a mounting financial impact from climate change as greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise.
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> By comparison, investments in energy efficiency <https://www.edf.org/blog/2014/06/10/cheapest-way-cut-climate-pollution-energy-efficiency> and renewable energy sources will cost the world an estimated $190.2 trillion. This scenario assumes that 34 percent of the world’s energy will come from renewables in 2040, up from less than 20 percent in 2014.
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> “The incremental costs of following a low-carbon path are in context limited and seem affordable,” the authors write. “The return on that investment is acceptable; moreover the likely avoided liabilities are enormous…. A very strong ‘Why would you not?’ argument begins to develop.”
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> Citibank’s energy team is hopeful the world will move in the right direction, starting with the international climate talks held in Paris in December.
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> Today’s momentum, they noted, is driven in no small part by investors who are turning away from fossil fuel assets to instead focus on new and promising opportunities <https://www.edf.org/blog/2015/05/20/5-reasons-clean-energy-investments-beat-expectations> in clean energy.
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> Karin Rives <http://www.edf.org/blog_author/karin-rives> is the Environmental Defense Fund’s editorial manager and is editor of the Voices <http://www.edf.org/blog> blog.
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> This article <https://www.edf.org/blog/2015/10/07/citibank-how-investments-clean-energy-can-save-trillions> was republished with permission from the Environmental Defense Fund <http://www.edf.org/>.