Renewable sources such as solar and wind could supply up to 80 percent of the world's energy needs by 2050 and play a significant role in fighting global warming, a top climate panel concluded Monday.
But the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that to achieve that level, governments would have to do more to introduce policies that integrate renewables into existing power grids and promote their benefits in terms of reducing air pollution and improving public health.
Authors said the report concluded that the use of renewables is on the rise, their prices are declining and that with the right policies, they will be an important tool both in tackling climate change and helping poor countries use the likes of solar or wind to develop their economies in a sustainable fashion. ``The report shows that it is not the availability of the resource but the public policies that will either expand or constrain renewable energy development over the coming decades,' said Ramon Pichs.