Reflections on how higher education institutions are working together to tackle climate change.

Divestment from fossil fuels has increased over the last decade as a moral and financial response to the climate crisis, but is it an effective approach to tackle the severity of challenges we now face and how can it support the goals of COP26?

We ask the question ‘Can renewable energy sources power the world?’ as a response to the growing awareness that increased use of renewable energy technologies is making a major contribution to global efforts to limit anthropogenic climate change.
The course begins by examining the environmental concerns that have caused a rise in interest in renewable energy, introducing the main sources and technologies, and describing global efforts to increase the share of renewables.
The course then looks at each of the principal renewable energy technologies and the contributions they might make to global energy demand.
Finally, several future energy scenarios are analysed to show how combinations of renewable energy sources and technologies could provide a major share of global energy needs.