How well are we doing in our quest to generate more power from sustainable sources?

With the amount of recent media coverage surrounding climate change, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the developed world is on the cusp of an environmental revolution. At first glance, this appears to be true: the member states of the European Union, for example, with their long history of concern about energy sustainability, have committed to generating 12 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2010 and 20 percent by 2020.

The US, once known mainly for its refusal to ratify the Kyoto protocol, has undergone a tree-hugging renaissance since the Obama Administration came to power, and is now looking to achieve similar goals of 10 percent by 2012 and 25 percent by 2025.

But what's the real story behind these numbers? The dawn of the year 2010 is nearly upon us, the EU looks likely to fall short of its 12 percent target. The European Commission's ‘Renewable Energy Progress Report' concluded earlier this year that this was likely to happen, "despite the legislation, recommendations, exhortations and even legal proceedings against some member states."

This conclusion appears to be borne out by figures from Europe's Energy Portal, which indicate that only 9.2 percent of Europe's final energy consumption came from renewable sources in 2006, the last year for which confirmed data are available.

The US appears to be doing better, despite its slower start. According to the Energy Information Administration, renewable energy accounted for around 11.1 percent of energy produced in the United States in the first half of 2009. Of this figure, 7.4 percent came from conventional hydroelectric power, with only 4.7 percent coming from ‘new' sources such as biomass, geothermal, solar and wind.

Utility companies on both sides of the Atlantic have been enthusiastic in joining the renewables race, with many announcing their own plans to expand into more environmentally friendly generating sources and cut back on traditional, carbon-producing fuels.

However, the facts show that no matter how ambitious the goals, or how media-friendly the international conferences, it's not easy to change the behaviour of individuals and organisations across an entire nation, let alone a union of countries who are often hard-pressed to agree even on less crucial matters.

What's to be done? There are two choices - giving up, sitting back, and literally watching while the world burns. Or pressing ahead, despite the setbacks and challenges. If we truly value the future of our planet, there's only one option we can take.