– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

Renewable energy has overtaken coal as

the world's leading source of

electricity for the first time. Figures

from the global energy think tank Ember

show the growth in solar and wind was so

strong it helped drive a slight overall

decline in coal and gas use. Ember says

developing countries, especially China,

led the clean energy charge, but richer

nations, including the US and the EU,

relied more than before on planet

warming fossil fuels for electricity

generation.

While renewable energy, including

nuclear power, has overtaken coal, as we

just said, as the world's biggest source

of electricity for the first time.

Here's our climate editor, Justin Rolat.

The world's renewable revolution has

passed a crucial turning point,

according to the global energy think

tank, Ember. China is leading the

charge. It added more solar and wind

capacity than the rest of the world

combined, reducing the amount of

electricity it generated from fossil

fuels by 2%.

India also saw renewables outpace

electricity demand.

So we seen for the first time that

renewables overtook coal and if solar

keeps growing as it is growing and we

have steady grow with wind, there is no

going back. But the Ember data shows the

world is moving at different speeds. In

some developed countries, notably the US

and EU, electricity demand grew faster

than clean energy output, leading to a

rise in coal and gas generation. One

problem is wind power is much more

expensive than solar power. Our

calculations suggest that the cost of

roundthe-clock electricity, electricity

whenever the consumer wants it will be,

you know, twice as high or more in the

northern wind belt than it will be in

the sunb belt of the the world. Solar is

now the cheapest form of energy

available in many developing countries,

which explains why it has been the

largest source of new electricity

globally for the last three years in a

row. Justin Rolat, BBC News.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
energy /ˈɛnərʤi/ A2	noun - the power from something such as electricity, fuel, or food
overtake /ˌoʊvərˈteɪk/ B1	verb - to catch up with and pass something or someone
coal /koʊl/ A1	noun - a hard black substance that is dug from the earth and burned to produce heat
electricity /ɪˌlɛkˈtrɪsɪti/ A2	noun - a form of energy that is carried by wires and is used to produce light, heat, or power
solar /ˈsoʊlər/ B1	adjective - relating to or determined by the sun
wind /wɪnd/ A1	noun - the movement of air outside
decline /dɪˈklaɪn/ B1	verb - to become less in quantity, quality, or value
develop /dɪˈvɛləp/ A2	verb - to grow or cause something to grow and become more advanced
fossil /ˈfɑsəl/ B1	noun - the preserved remains of an ancient organism adjective - relating to fuels formed from the remains of living organisms
nuclear /ˈnukliər/ B1	adjective - relating to the nucleus of an atom or to atomic energy
revolution /ˌrɛvəˈluʃən/ B2	noun - a significant change in something
crucial /ˈkruʃəl/ B2	adjective - extremely important
capacity /kəˈpæsɪti/ B1	noun - the ability to hold or contain something
reduce /rɪˈdus/ A2	verb - to make something smaller or less
outpace /ˌaʊtˈpeɪs/ B2	verb - to go faster than someone or something
steady /ˈstɛdi/ A2	adjective - firmly fixed or not moving
expensive /ɪkˈspɛnsɪv/ A1	adjective - costing a lot of money