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“Renewables have a huge role to play in mitigating climate change because one of the key challenges is to decarbonize our energy system and renewables are the key way forward in doing that. Also, this is not just about reducing emissions, it’s about development, access to energy, and moving forward in a positive way…renewable energy can change people’s lives overnight. – Paul Watkinson, Head of Climate Negotiations team, France
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“To drive the rapid uptake of renewables, legislators have to take an urgent and active approach, adopting new policy frameworks at the national and regional levels. Without the support of legislators, we will be unable to turn the tide. I encourage you to come together and embrace the extraordinary opportunities the renewable revolution has to offer.” - Adnan Z. Amin, IRENA Director-General
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“Quite frankly, there is no answer to climate change without substantially, dramatically, increasing the amount of renewable energy in the global energy system.” – Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC
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"Renewable energy, at least from the perspective of small islands states, is absolutely crucial in the fight against climate change. The amount of money we spend each year on fossil fuels in totally unsustainable. By utilizing renewables we can also significantly improve lives through energy access while reducing fossil fuel purchases." – Espen Ronneberg, Climate Change Advisor, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme
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“The United Arab Emirates recognized early that our economy was based on one thing, oil and gas, so we needed to diversify. Renewable energy projects now make economic sense, specifically solar for our region. If renewables work in the UAE, they can work anywhere in the world.” – Majid Al Suwaidi, Chief Climate Change Negotiator, UAE
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“Overall it is a question of gradually tackling a key challenge: power generation in Germany needs to be almost carbon-free by 2050 in order to achieve our national and European climate targets. Replacing fossil power generation with renewable energies makes the biggest contribution to this.” – Barbara Hendricks, Federal Environment Minister of Germany
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“Business is finding that committing to renewable energy makes sense. They are making the switch for business reasons…it actually saves them money.” – Mark Kenber, CEO of the Climate Group
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“Thanks to national policies, Sweden has achieved a 23% emission reduction since 1990 and our GDP has risen 60% during that same period. This proves that renewables make economic sense. Our dependency on fossil fuel has been reduced by half, and we are now one of the most renewable energy-dependent economies.” – Katja Awiti, Deputy Director General, Climate Department, Ministry of Climate and Environment Sweden
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“The future of renewable energy is fundamentally a choice. All of the resources and technologies are there, but legislators and governments have to choose a renewables path.” – Martin Hullin from REN21
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"I think renewable energy really has the primary role in mitigating climate change. If we are going to reduce fossil fuel emissions, which is the key here, then renewables have to take their place; energy is not going to stop being a necessary commodity for people." – Rob Fowler, Gold Standard Foundation
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