ABSTRACT
NO: A diverse clean energy portfolio delivers wider social and economic benefits
The world will invest about $100 trillion in energy by the middle of the century. Investing that money solely in renewable energy may prove effective in enabling a transition to a sustainable energy system that can power societies’ demand for modern energy services. But that would be a highly risky bet. To meet the planet’s demand for modern energy services we would be far better off investing in a diverse portfolio of energy technologies as complements to renewables. In addition to renewables, this diverse portfolio might include advanced nuclear, carbon capture, negative emissions, energy efficiency, storage and general purpose technologies. This broader set of investments will allow society to take full advantage of the opportunities that rapidly improving renewables provide. An exclusive focus on renewables will only magnify their limitations.
