Clean energy: not yet affordable or scalable
While solar and wind energy sources may benefit from free sunlight and wind, these advantages alone do not make them competitive with fossil fuels.
Solar and wind energy face significant challenges that hinder their competitiveness and limit widespread adoption. These challenges stem from the intermittent nature of sunlight and wind, necessitating backup systems and substantial raw materials.
Nuclear power is a clean alternative, but current technology is not well suited for large-scale global expansion due to the limited availability of known uranium reserves, which would be rapidly depleted if nuclear capacity were significantly expanded.[1] Only next-generation (Generation IV) reactors could operate efficiently on these limited reserves, but they are not expected to become operational before the 2030s.
Therefore, an impractical clean-energy solution cannot simply be imposed as a replacement for fossil fuels, which remain the only cheap and continuously available fuels at scale.
The economic impact of high clean energy costs
The swift implementation of high clean energy costs could have adverse economic impacts, disproportionately affecting certain segments of the population.
If clean energy becomes mandatory, whether partially or fully, corporations are likely to pass the increased costs on to consumers. While the upper class may be able to absorb this financial burden, it could push low-income and middle-class individuals into severe poverty. This vulnerable population is unlikely to accept such sacrifices, especially as the wealthy continue to maintain their comfortable lifestyles.
A fair system for a gradual green transition has yet to be established
A comprehensive system is needed to facilitate a 30-year transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.
Building a clean energy economy from the ground up will likely require trillions of dollars annually over the coming decades[2] to fund the extensive workforce required to develop an entirely new infrastructure, including the acquisition of mining permits, the establishment of supply chains, the construction of clean power plants, and the gradual replacement of existing fossil fuel-dependent equipment.
Governments may need to design regulatory measures to support this transition. However, they must do so by placing a greater financial burden on the wealthy rather than on the poor. Crafting such an equitable system has yet to be achieved.