In 2019, IKEA invested $2.8 billion in renewable energy infrastructure. IKEA put 1 million solar panels on 370 0f its stores and warehouses, and also built 535 wind turbines and 2 solar parks. The goal is to be climate positive by 2030.
Google has boasted about making the “largest renewable energy purchase in history.” Google announced that it made a renewable power purchase (which is really more than one purchase) totaling 1,600 megawatts.
The projects are planned to be built across the US, Europe, and Chile and will increase Google’s total wind and solar power agreements by more than 40%.
On the flip side, Google has made donations to conservative think tanks that deny climate change. It also works hand in hand with big oil via its Google Cloud Platform to help oil companies find and locate new oil and gas.
We feel Google is big enough, today, to survive without helping big oil.
The desire may be there and may be promoted via their PR arms — just like an individual’s desire to change their way of doing things for the better and also be acknowledged for it — but they often end up falling back into old patterns because there is no sense of urgency making that desire stronger.
With the coronavirus, we have a deadly virus that is spreading quickly, killing many. And it has no clear cure. The desire and urgency for a vaccine is there, but we don’t have one yet.
With climate change, people just aren’t dying in the manner they are with the coronavirus, so the desire and urgency aren’t there, even though the long-term threat is much greater — much, much greater.
If large corporations like IKEA, Target, and Walmart have found that renewable energy is appealing from a financial as well as environmental position, then what is the holdup for us?
Reference- IKEA website & The Better Life Report, Walmart website, Clean Technica