A recent international survey found 82% of respondents believe the world should run entirely on green energy and an average of 85% want their countries to phase out coal.
The research was carried out through 26,401 interviews conducted in 13 countries (Australia not among them) by Edelman Intelligence for Ørsted (previously known as DONG Energy – see below).
The stand against coal and for renewables was strongest in China, with 93% of Chinese respondents wanting to see a green energy powered world and 96% an end to coal use. Someone may want to tell U.S. President Donald Trump that 77% of Americans appear to want an end to the use of coal as well.
“Green energy has become cheaper than black, and the newly released Green Energy Barometer shows an overwhelming public support for a shift from black to green,” says Henrik Poulsen, CEO of Ørsted.
Solar power turned out to be a favourite green energy source, with 80% of respondents stating more should be installed, followed by more onshore wind (67%) and offshore wind (64%). More solar power was the top choice in all thirteen countries.
The survey also revealed climate change to be the second most pressing global challenge, behind terrorism and ahead of caring for an ageing population.
The Ørsted 2017 Green Energy Barometer can be downloaded here (PDF)
From DONG to Ørsted
If you haven’t heard of Ørsted before, you may recognise the company under another name – DONG Energy. DONG was an acronym for Danish Oil and Natural Gas.
The company says it has undergone a huge transformation from one of Europe’s most coal and oil intensive companies to a green leader. Over the last decade it has reduced its coal consumption by 73%, and will fully phase out use of the fossil fuel by 2023. During this year, the company ditched its upstream oil and gas business to focus purely on green energy.
“Following the profound strategic transformation from black to green energy and the recent divestment of the upstream oil-and-gas production, the name Dong Energy does not fit the company any more,” the firm said in October. It announced it would be known as Ørsted as of the 6th of this month. The name is a nod to Danish scientist Hans Christian Ørsted, who discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields.
Even before the decade-long transformation, DONG was dabbling in renewables – it pioneered the world’s first offshore wind farm in 1991, Vindeby, which generated 243GWh of electricity during its 25 year service life. Decommissioning of Vindeby was completed in September this year.
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