SYDNEY, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), have released a report that suggests global energy use would need to be cut in half in order to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

The study published in the Climate Policy journal and released to the public on Thursday, found that substituting fossil fuel energy production with renewable energy would not be enough to reduce global warming.

Mark Diesendorf, author of the study and Honorary Associate Professor at the School of Humanities and Languages, UNSW, told Xinhua on Friday that eventually all countries would need to reduce their energy use, beginning with high-income countries.

"We have a situation where renewable electricity and total energy consumption are growing quite rapidly alongside one another. So, renewables are chasing a retreating target that keeps getting further away," said Diesendorf.

The findings add new kindling to the growing "degrowth" movement which believes that constant economic growth is incompatible with living sustainably on the planet.

Diesendorf said that people and governments would need to understand that GDP does not measure the quality of life, which is "contrary to popular belief."

"Planned degrowth, as opposed to collapse, can be carried out without reducing the quality of life in the countries undergoing it."

He said that while there are many technological policies in place that support a transition to 100 percent renewable energy, little attention has been paid to reducing consumption.

The monumental socioeconomic change required would need to be led by the strong government-led policy.

"It does not mean going back to living in caves. But it does mean abandoning the belief of conventional economics that eternal growth is possible on a planet with finite resources."

The report proposed a set of Universal Basic Services (UBS) and guaranteed jobs which would be funded through greater taxes on a population's richest citizens. "This job guarantee would also act to reduce the boom-and-bust economic cycles and reduce the risk of inflation."

He said that while such programs would benefit the vast majority of people, there are major political blockades to their realization.

"The rich's influence on political decision-making should not be underestimated. Other formidable opponents are corporations with vested interests in fossil fuels, deforestation and other destructive industries." Enditem

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