According to a report issued by the international environmental group WWF, green technologies offer the hope in averting climate disaster but the ultimate deadline for committing to these technologies is 2014. The group has come up with the conclusion that should the world miss the said deadline, runaway global warming and economic meltdown are sure results.

WWF adds that ‘green technologies will have to grow by 22 per cent each year for the next four decades. Such growth would be the “fastest industrial revolution” witnessed in our history.’ Such an imperative move will result in a 63 percent decline in emissions of key greenhouse gases between 1990 and 2050. This crucial drop is ‘enough to prevent global warming exceeding the 2 °C limit agreed by the G8 industrial nations.’

This massive reindustrialization comes with a hefty cost: $17 trillion worldwide by 2050. Of this amount, $7 trillion will be dedicated to renewable energy technologies. The rest of the massive funds will go to harnessing energy efficiency, low-carbon agriculture, and sustainable forestry.

The report also reveals that ‘only three green energy technologies out of 20 assessed are growing fast enough: wind, solar photovoltaics and biodiesel.’

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Via NewScientist

For the first time in U.S. history, a nationwide fixed cap on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will be in place. ‘The American Clean Energy and Security Act calls for the U.S. to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020.’ Thus, all energy producers in the United States by 2020 should be sourcing at least 15 percent of their respective energy sources from wind, solar, or other renewable energy resource.

An ambitious goal but doable if funded with loads of political will. The skeptics still think that this legislation will have a serious impact on the country’s economy. There is also fear of the possibility that prices for gasoline and energy resources will rise, and that more than 2.5 million jobs will be threatened.

The White House thinks the opposite. For the Obama administration, the new law will, on the contrary, create millions of jobs through large investments in ‘green technologies.’

There are immediately concrete reactions from some industry sectors. For instance, the U.S. steel industry which is responsible for a large part of greenhouse gases in the country already has some of its companies issuing warnings that they will relocate their production abroad in such countries as Brazil.

The U.S. Climate Bill is projected to cost $22 billion a year by 2020. Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the measure would cost an average of $175 a year per household.

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Via Bloomberg/msnbc