Netherlands is taking its biggest steps towards more green energy: Think Tank

The Netherlands has made the strongest progress of all countries in the past two years with regards to the use of renewable energy, according to a report by climate think tank Ember. Between 2019 and 2021, the Netherlands switched about a 10th of its total energy consumption from fossil fuels to solar and wind energy. Australia and Vietnam also quickly made their energy consumption more sustainable.

The share of fossil fuels in total energy consumption in the Netherlands fell from 78 percent to 63 percent during the two-year timeframe. At the same time, the share of renewable energy increased from 14 percent to 25 percent.

In this respect, the Netherlands is lagging behind other European countries such as Greece, Germany, Spain and Denmark. More than half of the energy Denmark uses is renewable, the vast majority of which is generated by wind turbines.

The global economy began to recover from the coronavirus pandemic last year and as a result, the demand for electricity increased rapidly. High oil and gas prices caused countries to use more coal. Partly because of this, CO2 emissions reached a record high last year.

However, according to Ember, solar and wind energy can grow sufficiently to limit warming to 1.5 degrees. Their use must then grow worldwide by at least 20 percent every year until 2030. The increase should still accelerate, because last year a growth of 17 percent was achieved. It was the first time renewable energy accounted for 10 percent of total electricity generation worldwide.

UN climate panel IPCC reported last year that the earth could warm by 1.5 degrees in the next two decades if drastic measures are not taken to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The authors of the report concluded that humanity is undeniably responsible for global warming.