The European Union could obtain 92% of its energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar by 2050 while cutting carbon emissions by 95% compared with 1990, according to a report.

An extra €2tn (£1.7tn) worth of investment would be needed by the middle of this century but that could easily be outweighed by €2.65tn of fuel cost savings, argues Greenpeace International and the European Renewable Energy Council.

The report, Energy (R)evolution: Towards a fully renewable energy supply in the EU, claims a mixture of existing technologies plus the widespread adoption of electric cars and demand reduction initiatives would allow a dramatic change in energy requirements without a huge reduction in quality of life.

While the initial cost would be significant, the authors argue that the current model of energy production and use fails to guarantee a secure, sustainable and affordable supply into the future.

"This study shows that investing in green energy will nudge up the cost of electricity in the short to medium term. But it will save trillions of euros in fuel costs alone by 2030 and represents an immediate investment in jobs and energy security," says Greenpeace, which points out that its calculations are based on work by the systems analysis and technology assessment department of the German Aerospace Centre in Stuttgart.

The report was given credibilitytoday by Germany whose the Federal Environment Agency said it could derive all of its electricity from renewables by 2050. The country already gets 16% of its electricity from wind, solar and other renewable sources – three times higher than the level it achieved 15 years ago.

They are reliable on aggregate. The sun always shines and the wind always blows somewhere. You just need a good distribution network, possibly involving hydrogen being piped across continents.

I find it interesting that the countries with the most oil also have the most sun. Not that surprising when you think about where oil comes from.

I think that's the only way they could do it. We've already had isuues hhere where wind turbines have been turned off of windy days as teh national grid could use it.

I find it interesting that the countries with the most oil also have the most sun. Not that surprising when you think about where oil comes from.

I'm:
A.) A little drunk
B.) Curious

Could you expand on that a little?

I've been interested in the osmosis idea for a while, the first prototype is up and running with full scale implementation possibly available in 2015 clicky

I've been interested in the osmosis idea for a while, the first prototype is up and running with full scale implementation possibly available in 2015 clicky

A good priciple but with so many cities around the world building desalination plants, something tells me a few priorities are mixed up.

It will only work in areas with adequate fresh water.

All these problems are solvable. Much more so than trying to solve the problem of nuclear waste.

Yes but if we got 95% of our energy from renewables we will still need nuclear as a reserve, but far fewer than if we went the mass nuclear route.