“Green, clean and yet to be seen” pretty much sums up the state of renewable energy in our present society. We’ve got the technology and its improving at a rate of knots, but the take-up is lacking. So what’s up? Who’s to blame for this apathy and what can we do to fix it?

When it comes to this non-renewable nightmare, fossil fuels tend to get the worst rap of it. With 10 million dollars per minute going into fossil fuel subsidies across the globe, the industry is clearly going strong despite being past its prime. To put that in perspective, funding for nature-based climate solutions is a mere 2% of this- and which one do you think we more need?

Fossil fuels are by any measure the largest contributor to the problem, so what keeps this system going. One could blame the billions of dollars of revenue pushed into false news, scientific confounding and other such campaigns to muddy the waters of public opinion. With all those jobs at risk, there’s certainly the manpower and the money to keep the system on its feet- and of course in areas such as Australia where political opinion is divided, mindless followers will be naturally drawn towards these pro-fossil fuel tendencies.

Energy production ultimately is currently set up in such a way that large standardized systems are favoured- that is, microgrids are either discouraged or openly illegal, and low energy prices from the heavily subsidized government fossil fuel plants makes such a change economically unnecessary. If we could only realize that better health, education and countless other community benefits stem from the usage of sustainable energy, then we would surely unite behind the cause- and the 2040 movie released earlier this year was certainly a good start for this.

Transport, farming and other major industry sectors are equally significant contributors to emissions, and mustn’t be ignored by activists and legislators as we try to facilitate this transition. In the United States, 20% of all emissions come from road vehicles, and with an extra 1 billion cars expected to hit the roads globally in the next two decades, this needs to be drastically reduced for climate targets to be reached. Smart car-share is an option, which will be facilitated by self-driving vehicles, but equally electric cars and hybrid vehicles if given proper backing could be revolutionary.

Deforestation accounts for 11% of global emissions, the vast majority of this as a result of unsustainable farming practices. So agricultural education to accompany expansion is a must, with a positive balance struck between large commercial operations and subsistence farmers. The irony here is that improvement in yields aligns perfectly with more environmentally-conscious techniques.

So the solutions as I stated very much do exist, but the will is lacking. We must recognize not only that the time has come for urgent action, but to do so in a scientifically conscious and sustainable manner to create the brighter future we seek.