Study: Accelerated clean energy transition could slash family energy bills

Research by We Mean Business Coalition and Cambridge Econometrics released ahead of upcoming G7 Leaders Summit in Berlin

The typical family of four in the world's most developed nations could save $2,000 (£1,574) a year on their energy bills if economies engineer a rapid switch to clean energy sources, a major new report released today suggests.

The research - released just days ahead of the G7 leaders' summit in Berlin - argues that implementing policies to end dependency on fossil fuels at pace would provide a per-person reduction in energy costs from electricity, natural gas, and petrol or diesel of $480, a saving of 25 per cent on current bills. By 2035 the average person living in a G7 country could save 45 per cent, or $825, a year on their combined energy bills.

The report, titled Creating Jobs and Cutting Bills: the economic opportunities of a clean energy transition, has been published by the We Mean Business Coalition of corporates alongside analyst firm Cambridge Econometrics.

It also suggests an accelerated transition away from fossil fuels and towards a net zero emission economy would create 1.92 million new jobs across the G7 by 2025 when compared to business as usual scenarios.

"With heatwaves hitting communities across the world, the climate emergency is more evident than ever," said Maria Mendiluce, CEO of the We Mean Business Coalition. "People want to see solutions now. This report highlights for the G7 leaders that an accelerated transition to clean energy is achievable. It can help solve the climate crisis while driving down household costs and bringing more jobs and growth: a huge bonus to businesses and the people they serve and employ. To protect the world's citizens from climate and economic disaster, we urge G7 leaders to implement the policies outlined in this report now."

The potential jobs bonanza is particularly striking for the US where 900,000 new jobs could be created by 2025, researchers suggest. Under their modelling, annual energy bills there would fall 25 per cent or $529 by 2030 and in 2035 Americans would spend 46 per cent less, saving $940 each year, compared to business as usual. In the European Union, meanwhile, household energy bills would be 28 per cent or $430 (€409) lower in 2030 and by 2035 consumers would spend roughly half as much on their energy costs, saving almost $750) per year, compared to business as usual.

Looking beyond the G7, the report found that India could create over 15 million new jobs by 2025 by pursuing an accelerated clean energy transition.

To deliver such a rapid transition, the researchers propose a number of actions and commitments governments should make, including phasing out domestic coal-fired power generation by 2030 and scaling up renewable energy deployment to achieve 70 per cent of power generation by 2030 across the G7.

Countries should also commit to 100 per cent sales of zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs) by 2035 for new light duty vehicles and a sharp increase in public spending for energy efficiency, the report suggests.

In addition, it argues countries should set out national action plans in 2022 to eliminate all fossil fuel subsidies by 2025 and also put a "meaningful price" on carbon starting this year. All fossil fuel subsidies should be eliminated by 2025 with funds repurposed towards a clean energy transition,the report recommends.

"The modelling illustrates the potential benefits if G7 leaders follow through on their commitments to accelerate the energy transition," said Jon Stenning, head of environment at Cambridge Econometrics. "What they choose this week could set in motion investments and policies needed to drive the clean energy transition at the pace required to halve their emissions by 2030. This would also generate additional benefits to society such as reducing household energy costs and creating millions of new jobs."

The report comes just a day after two similar reports set out how the UK and EU markets could switch to nearly fully decarbonised power grids by 2035 while in the process delivering significant cost savings and long term economic benefits.