Westinghouse CEO calls for more clean-energy development

Westinghouse Electric Company President and CEO Danny Roderick issued a statement recently on climate change and energy.

Roderick began by recognizing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group I’s conclusion that greenhouse gas emissions and human activity are primary causes for climate changes, with a certainty of 95 percent. Roderick also said that presently, the largest producer of carbon emissions is the global electricity generation industry.

With this, Roderick said renewable and clean sources of energy are essential to bring carbon emissions down. The IPCC said 80 percent of global energy generation will need to come from low-carbon sources to keep global temperature averages from rising no more than two degrees Celsius by 2050. Currently, global energy is produced primarily through fossil fuels, which account for approximately 70 percent.

Roderick cited a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) that said nuclear and wind power generation offer the lowest costs among generation types. With this, Roderick said generating energy through low-carbon methods would benefit industry and consumers overall.

Currently, the Climate Change Conference is taking place in Paris. Roderick said that those in the energy sector will need a framework and access to investments and financing options to facilitate the development and establishment of low-carbon generation infrastructure.