As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, in recent months we have seen a massive reduction in energy usage. We’re seeing the greatest decrease is fossil fuel usage since fossil fuels became widely used in the mid 20th century. Coal demand is expected to fall more than it did after WW2. Energy demand is expected to drop by an unprecedented 6% this year, this is around the equivalent of the entire energy demand of India.
While fossil fuel demand decreases, renewable energy is expected to grow this year. The pandemic has shown how poor the fossil fuel industry functions. The cost of storage and the cost of the supply chain to move fossil fuel is extremely expensive, and without the demand for fossil fuels, the industry is collapsing.
Birol and the IEA are confident that the growth in renewables should signal a shift from fossil fuel companies toward generating clean energy.
Green Energy Surges as Demand for Fossil Fuel Collapses — and It Could Be Here to Stay -The Mind Unleashed
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Some experts have pointed out that if the 2008 recession is anything to go off of we may likely see a large spike in energy usage after the pandemic is over. Others have talked about the importance of using this pandemic as an opportunity to make the transition to renewable energy and not go back to our old ways.
We want to see emissions drop because of a stronger and bigger renewable industry, lower fuel bills and the creation of hundreds of thousands of new green jobs. And that’s what must be at the heart of our recovery from this crisis.
Johnathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party
Sources:
- Green Energy Surges as Demand for Fossil Fuel Collapses — and It Could Be Here to Stay -The Mind Unleashed
- Climate crisis: Coronavirus causing collapse in demand for fossil fuels while renewables make major gains, according to major global report -Independent