Burning fossil fuels is said to kill almost 9 million people per year. Reservoirs are evaporating because of global warming. Heat-related deaths are expected to triple by 2050. Recent climate findings have been far from encouraging.

But a new report from energy analysts Ember provides a ray of hope. The study says that this year will mark the first drop in use of the fossil fuelsFuels made from decomposing plants and animals, including coal, natural gas and oil. These fuels release carbon dioxide, causing global warming. coal, oil and gas outside of a pandemic or global recessionA period of economic decline. A recession occurs when a country's Gross Domestic Product falls for six months in a row. .

The report also recorded a spike in renewable energies such as wind and solar, which now produce 12% of our global electricity supply.¹ Global use of solar energy grew by 24% last year.

The results have been praised as a "turning point". Electricity production is the single biggest factor contributing to global warmingThe Earth is getting hotter due to climate change.. A turn towards green energy will be one of our most important efforts if we are to reach net zeroWhen the gases going into the atmosphere are balanced by those being taken out of it. carbon emissions by 2050, a key milestone.

As the tides turn, making renewable energies a cheaper alternative to fossil fuels, global economic powerhouses are increasingly turning to green power to succeed.

But some experts caution against optimism. According to them, we are moving far too slowly to put a dent in rapid rates of global warming.

Some cite the Oil Shock of 1973 as a key precedent. During this crisis, the price of a barrel of oil quadrupled within a year. A huge investment boom followed, focused on non-fossil energy alternatives such as nuclear, as people realised they could not rely on fossil fuels.

The energy crisis which followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was bound to spark similar investment in alternatives, say experts, but this does not mean that we are taking purposeful steps towards a greener planet. In fact, it shows we are more likely to be motivated by economic concerns than existential ones.

Yes: Converting to green energy is the single most significant step that we need to take to meet our climate targets. The fact that we are meeting all new demand with renewables would not even have been conceivable a few years ago.

No: Our generation of fossil fuels will only decline by 0.3% this year, and we are set to overstep our 1.5 degrees C target by leaps and bounds. Nobody could call this a real turning point.

Or... This may be a turning point, but not for the right reasons. The only reason we are investing in renewables is that they can now be cheaper thanks to the energy crisis. We are responding to economic incentives, not to the climate breakdown.