Hello everyone
Are renewable energy certificates greenwashing?
What is the guarantee that solar cells that are depreciated are not harmful to the environment?
By increasing renewable energy production and promoting renewable equipment, there is a guarantee for their recycling after the life of renewable equipment?
Hi Amir,
Renewable green certificates are one way to avoid double-counting, which might lead to greenwashing. Without them, the power produced might show up in the balance sheets of different stakeholders, all of them claiming that they have reduced their emissions.
Regarding depreciated solar cells: they do not emit harmful substances if they keep operating. Thus, it makes sense to keep using them as long as possible, and build new capacities to substitute fossil-based technologies.
Recycling: there is no guarantee, although some countries (e.g. in Europe) are passing laws to increase recycling of electronic equipment. It might not be economical at the moment to recycle, but it will be in the future when raw materials become scarce. Besides, it is a matter of sovereignty, because the critical materials are concentrated in a few countries. From an environmental point of view, it makes sense to recycle, but the environmental impacts of mining and extracting are usually not monetized properly.
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