Renewable energy ''key to low carbon economies''

Written by Andrew Marshall.

Renewable energy will play a vital role in helping to create lower carbon economies, it has been suggested.

Unless action is taken quickly, it may be too late to stop many climate change problems from developing after the year 2014, according to a report released by WWF and Climate Risk.

Further development of renewable energy technologies and other measures like energy efficiency and sustainable forestry are essential in tackling climate change issues, the report reveals.

WWF International''s director of energy policy Stephan Singer commented that greener sources of energy will also improve energy security.

He said: ''The wind, the sea and the sun will cost the same today, tomorrow and into the future, unlike coal.

''They can be the basis for a cleaner world where energy supplies are more secure and where we have the best chance of preventing dramatic climate changes.''

Meanwhile, the government recently released a map showing how the world could look if action is not taken to reduce the effects of climate change.