Challenges and Opportunities for Renewable Energy Trough Covid-19 – Part 2

We asked female leaders, who will be speaking at our summit in 2021, to share their personal thoughts on the challenges, opportunities and new perspectives they have personally encountered as they navigate through the still ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. This special series should inspire and encourage you to continue to manage the crisis in the best possible way. Inna Braverman gives an impulse to think about how to deal with the environment after the pandmie.

Spontaneous improvements of environmental problems have shown that acting – quickly – can be worthwhile

Prior to the pandemic, more than 800 million people worldwide lacked access to electricity. Billions more have their potential diminished by unreliable or insufficient energy access, predominantly provided by carbon-emitting fuels. The energy accessibility gap has further widened because of the pandemic. This year alone, more than 100 million people have seen their electricity access severed because they couldn’t pay their bills during the pandemic, with the toll falling disproportionately on the poor and most vulnerable. The World Bank estimates that the combined impact of climate change and the damage done by Covid-19 will push 132 million people into poverty.

In the same time, pollution and greenhouse gas levels have taken a dramatic dip as travel has come to a halt. Fewer cars on highways, planes in the sky, and people commuting to work has resulted in clear skies in many of the world’s smoggiest cities. NASA and the European Space Agency’s pollution monitoring satellites show a 30% drop in nitrogen dioxide in China since the outbreak of coronavirus, whereas lack of boat traffic and cruise ship tourism has left Venice’s canals with clear water. Due to this sudden pause, we started getting images of clear skies and water all over the planet, which represents a glimpse of what it might look like if we took better care of the earth.

“There’s no going back to the past, to before Covid-19. We need to reimagine the future we want,” said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of the Rockefeller Foundation. “To meet this moment, we must leverage all our resources and relationships to build an equitable, sustainable future, where everyone has the opportunity to realize their full potential and climate disaster is avoided. The time to act is right now to make sure vulnerable children and families are included in the pandemic response and recovery”.

A boost for renewable energies

The Rockefeller Foundation committed to invest 1 Billion USD over the next three years to catalyse a more inclusive, green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Other prominent leaders, governments, and organizations are also rising to the occasion and have committed to advancing significant and ground-breaking green recovery plans. For example, in June 2020, the EU launched a €750bn coronavirus recovery package of which 37% of the funding was to be allocated towards green initiatives that improve energy efficiency, reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and invest in preserving and restoring nature. Also, The Sustainable Markets Initiative, was launched by HRH Prince Charles of Wales, in response to the increasing threats posed by climate change and biodiversity loss.

Eco Wave Power is proud to be considered as one of the key solutions, as it was recently profiled in the Sustainable Market Initiative by HRH Prince of Wales, The World Economic Forum, and the Bank of America.

This initiative and other significant initiatives reinforce the rising commitment of global leaders for the implementation of clean and sustainable energy production solutions, to catalyse green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and stresses the fact that now more than ever, wave energy is being acknowledged as a significant part of the green recovery plan.