A friend of mine, way back in sixth grade, asked me, “Why don’t we just use solar power for
everything? It’s available everywhere if you think about it.” And that really did get me thinking,
why do we not use clean energy for everything. So, like any good future humanities student, to
answer my question I started reading about clean energy, this led me to find out that the
solution is not that simple. Today, almost six years after my friend's ingenious yet impractical
suggestion, the use of clean energy is something I am passionate about.
To implement any solution, first, we have to recognise the hurdles that stand in its way, and
these are some, I believe, that stand in the way of clean energy being used on a global
scale.
I believe that the problem of not using sustainable fuels continues because of its expensive
nature and the convenience of fossil fuels. To counteract this, governments ought to increase
their spending on research for clean energy.
Another reason is that we simply haven't found a perfect clean fuel. Many sectors, like the
transport sector, need fossil fuels because of their high energy density. Petrol contains about 40
times more energy than the most advanced battery (when both are of equal weight).
Certain industrial processes, like the manufacturing of glass, steel, cement, etc., need extremely
high temperatures, which are extremely difficult and impractical to achieve without the use of
fossil fuels.
The top 100 companies produce about 71% of global emissions, so the profit-driven nature of
companies that use fossil fuels to cut costs is also a factor. Most stakeholders in oil and fossil
fuel companies are extremely influential, and this affects the policy decisions of governments
that are swayed by these tycoons.
Finally, there is the fact that for many people, on a personal level, clean energy is not a burning
priority (pun intended). About 771 million people live in extreme poverty. For them, putting food
on the table is much more important than assessing what fuel they use.
The lack of technological advancement in using clean energy in developing countries, combined
with the tendency of companies to set up fossil fuel-consuming industries in said countries,
forms a huge hurdle for making clean energy mainstream.
Does this mean that the dream of clean energy is hopeless? I, being the ever-optimistic person, say no. It is definitely not completely impossible for us to make the green change. I will follow up on this in a new blog!
