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For Immediate Release
June, 11 2012, 03:00pm EDT
Contact:
Elizabeth Heyd, 202-289-2424, eheyd@nrdc.org or Bob Keefe, 202-289-2373, bkeefe@nrdc.org
New Report Ranks World's Biggest Countries on Renewable Energy
NRDC: Countries need to do more, beginning with Rio+20 Earth Summit
WASHINGTON
U.S. production of renewable energy has increased by more than 300 percent in the past decade, but the United States still lags far behind Europe and Indonesia and is only slightly ahead of Mexico in the percentage of electricity it gets from renewable sources, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council.
European countries, led by Germany, get more of their electricity from wind, solar, geothermal and other renewable sources than any other region in the world, NRDC's global renewable energy scorecard shows. The United States got about 2.7 percent of its electricity from renewables in 2011, making it No. 7 among G-20 member countries.
Renewable energy is expected to be a major issue at the upcoming Rio+20 Earth Summit in Brazil. NRDC is advocating for countries to adopt policies to increase the percentage of electricity they get from renewable sources to 15 percent by 2020.
Already some smaller, non-G-20 countries such as Spain, New Zealand and Iceland get more than 15 percent of their energy from renewable sources.
Favorable governmental policies and strong private-sector investments have helped to increase the availability of renewable energy in the United States and elsewhere, according to Jake Schmidt, NRDC's International Climate Policy Director.
"Unfortunately, the very policies that have increased our renewable energy supplies and reduced our dependence on dirty fossil fuels are now under fire in the United States and elsewhere," Schmidt said. "That's not just a threat to the thousands of new jobs being created by the renewable energy industry, but also a threat to our health, our environment and our planet."
"At the Earth Summit, civic and corporate stakeholders must commit to do more to increase electricity production from renewable sources," Schmidt said.
"A global agreement to spur this deployment would be helpful," he added. "But it is more important that key actors come to Rio+20 with individual country commitments to increase the amount of renewable energy to 15 percent of total electricity by 2020-- more than doubling what is predicted under current trends."
To see NRDC's renewable energy scorecard in its entirety, please see https://www.nrdc.org/energy/12060701.asp
For details about NRDC's energy and renewable priorities at Rio+20, including video of Jake on energy at Rio+20, see https://www.nrdc.org/international/rio-2012/cleanenergy.asp
And to read Jake's blog on Rio+20 and renewable energy, please see https://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jschmidt/we_need_new_action_on_renewables.html
NRDC works to safeguard the earth--its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. We combine the power of more than three million members and online activists with the expertise of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and policy advocates across the globe to ensure the rights of all people to the air, the water, and the wild.
(212) 727-2700LATEST NEWS
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Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, said on Saturday that a nationwide general strike is being planned for May 1 that will be modeled on the day of action residents of Minnesota organized in January against the brutality carried out by federal immigration enforcement officials.
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Levin then outlined what the event would entail.
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Levin: This is the largest protest in Minnesota history… The next major national action of this movement is not just gonna be another protest. On May 1st, across the country, we are saying no business as usual. No work, no school, no shopping. We're gonna show up and say we're… pic.twitter.com/bRPR7K5DuP
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 28, 2026
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The No Kings protests against President Donald Trump's authoritarian government, which Indivisible has been central in organizing, have brought millions of Americans into the streets.
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The Houthis on Saturday took credit for launching a ballistic missile at Israel, opening a new front in the war US President Donald Trump illegally started with Iran nearly one month ago.
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@sparkomat reports live from Jerusalem
https://t.co/Leuc4SnGfG
📺 Sky 501 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/TmlyFHkCZN
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 28, 2026
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