Reacción a "The “unstoppable” growth of renewables is the scientific breakthrough of the year for Science magazine"

The rapid expansion of renewable energy technologies demonstrates that an energy transition away from fossil fuels is not only necessary but also possible. The modularity and flexibility of renewable energy enable progress toward energy sovereignty, not only for countries that previously depended on fossil fuel imports, but also for small communities, cooperatives, and small businesses that, through flexible and inexpensive technologies, can bring electricity to remote areas or supply electricity to local industries and services. Reduced technology costs have made community energy viable and affordable.

However, renewable technologies also have environmental and social impacts. The renewable energy industry relies heavily on extractive materials such as lithium and cobalt for batteries, polysilicon for solar panels, and rare earth elements for magnets used in wind power production. As demand grows, the expansion of renewable energy creates new geopolitical dynamics to secure strategic control of minerals and supply chains. And energy production also has a social cost. There are credible reports of forced labor in the manufacture of polysilicon for solar panels. The growth of renewable energy has also often been accompanied by large-scale infrastructure projects with significant social and ecological costs, including displacement of communities, loss of livelihoods, deforestation, and degradation of terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Strong opposition has arisen within local and indigenous communities to projects such as the wind farms in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico, the Fosen wind project in Norway, and multiple solar farms in Rajasthan, India.

The expansion of renewable energy cannot be accepted at any price. Renewable energy must be integrated into a just transition that takes into account the equitable distribution of benefits and burdens, recognizes the right of individuals and communities to control how energy is produced, distributed, and used in their territories, and ensures the inclusion of multiple voices in decision-making processes. A just energy transition is within everyone's reach, but it requires political will and social support.