Renewable energy will contribute to 70% of Europe’s energy production, by 2040. This was revealed in the “New Energy Outlook 2016” study conducted by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. In 2015, renewable’s share in the old continent’s energy mix was 32%.

In USA, renewable’s share in the energy mix will increase from 14%, in 2015, to 44% in 2040. However, despite shale gas’ boom, the share of gas in the mix has slumped by 2%, to 31%.

This massive expansion of renewable energy is mainly spurred by a fall in implementation costs that will decrease by 41%, for wind, and by 60%, for solar, by 2040. Global decarbonization of electric system, in spite of low costs for gas and coal, will also play a key role in achieving this forecast.

Renewable energies will thus beat gas, in 2027, coal in 2037, according to Elena Giannakopoulou, an energy economist.

The development of these less polluting alternatives will also take place in the transport industry where 35% of newly sold cars worldwide, by 2040, will be electric cars.

Investments in this sector will reach $7.8 trillion between 2016 and 2040, against $2.1 trillion for fossil energies.

The study however indicates that these different changes will not be enough to stay under the 2°C global warming target fixed by states during the COP 21. To meet this target, an additional $5.3 trillion investment.

Gwladys Johnson