The DW Documentary ‘Will Renewables Stop the Climate Crisis?’ delves into whether renewable energy can effectively address the climate crisis. This film examines the advancements in sustainable energy solutions and the global efforts in the energy transition to combat climate change.

Humanity is facing the most significant upheaval since industrialization. The energy system must be transformed worldwide to stop climate change, and fossil fuels must be replaced entirely. But is this even possible?

Time is running out. If climate targets are still to be met and the survival of future generations is to be ensured, virtually all fossil energy sources worldwide will have to be replaced by renewables by 2050. That leaves us with almost precisely one generation from today to make this massive change. So, what needs to happen for the global energy transition to succeed?

Part 1 of this two-part documentary examines whether providing enough green energy for the world is possible. How can the oil economy be replaced? The film travels to places that could someday become the Saudi Arabia of renewable energies, such as gigantic offshore wind farms in the North Sea or Spain’s most modern solar fields. One day, these regions will supply all of Europe with electricity.

However, the globally increasing demand for energy must be met in sustainable and affordable ways. Researchers at the Technical University of Ilmenau in Thuringia are working with a California Institute of Technology team on high-tech materials to make renewable energies more efficient and less expensive than their fossil fuel predecessors. 

Watch Part 2 of this DW Documenarty documentary series » GO.