Ekonomia

Switching to renewable energy could save trillions of dollars

Switching to renewable energy could save trillions of dollars

Switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy could save the world up to $12 trillion by 2050, an Oxford University study says.

The report said it was wrong and pessimistic to claim that the rapid move to cleaner energy sources was expensive.

Gas prices have risen due to growing concerns about energy supplies.

But researchers say buying now has even more economic benefits because of the falling cost of renewables.

"The main conclusion of the study is that we need to push ahead with the green energy transition because it will save us money," Prof Doyne Farmer of the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School told BBC News.

The report's findings are based on processing historical price data for renewables and fossil fuels and then projecting how they might change in the future.

"Our latest research shows that the growth of key green technologies will continue to reduce their costs and the sooner we do this, the more we will save," says Dr Rupert Way, lead author of the report.

Wind and solar are already the cheapest option for new energy projects, but it remains to be assessed how best to store energy and balance the grid when weather changes lead to a decline in renewable production.