German gets greener (Germany Targets 100% Renewable Electricity by 2050)

From TreeHugger.com
by SAMI GROVER
Germany Targets 100% Renewable Electricity by 2050?

Germany is already a global leader in solar power, but that's just a start as far as Germans are concerned. It's already been shown that Germany could produce 100% of its electricity from renewables by 2050. Now the country's environment agency is arguing that it should.

Could it be that some countries are finally coming up with clean energy targets that will actually make a real difference?

OK, so it doesn't look like we have a firm commitment from the government yet. But according to The Guardian, Germany's Federal Environment Agency has issued a report that argues strongly for generating 100% of the country's electricity from renewables by 2050:

""A complete conversion to renewable energy by 2050 is possible from a technical and ecological point of view," said Jochen Flasbarth, president of the Federal Environment Agency.

"It's a very realistic target based on technology that already exists - it's not a pie-in-the-sky prediction," he said."

And given the fact that the Government is already committed to 80-85% CO2 cuts by 2050, an aggressive expansion of renewables seems like a sensible way to do it. And to those who argue it will be too expensive, the report is very adamant that the costs will pale into insignificance compared to the cost of inaction on climate change.

Go Germany. The World Cup might not have worked out this year, but this is a nation that has its eyes on a higher prize...