139 countries could go 100% renewable by 2050 says new report

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139 countries could be powered 100 percent by solar, wind, hydropower and geothermal energy by 2050, a study conducted by a group from Stanford University’s Atmosphere and Energy concluded.

A 100% renewable future would also reduce the energy consumption by 42.5 percent globally, due to the efficiency of renewable sources, the scientists and engineers claim. Furthermore, the shift could lead to a net increase of roughly 24.3 million long-term full-time jobs, an annual decrease of up to 7 million deaths from air pollution annually. All this could save more than $50 trillion in health and climate costs per year, and will also likely avoid keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The research team started after a hotly debated research paper appearing in 2015 suggesting that the United States could switch to 100 percent clean...