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Solar can accelerate the decarbonisation of the world’s energy system and form the basis of the new low-carbon economy. It is already doing it. The International Energy Agency has stated that the cost of solar PV systems has dropped by 75 per cent in just six years and that we can expect a further drop in the price of the systems of 25-40 per cent by 2020. This means that solar will be even more affordable for everyone in the world. With new business models – community solar, crowd funding and social solar – we will all be able to benefit from this clean energy phenomenon.The potential of solar is huge and the recognition of this is growing across the world – particularly in the tropics. The launch of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the Global Solar Council (GSC), which SolarPower Europe currently chairs, projected the cost advantages of solar to a huge “ SOLARPOWER EUROPE FULLY SUPPORTS THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION’S DRIVE TO CREATE AN ENVIRONMENTAL GOODS AGREEMENT (EGA) WHICH WILL LIBERALISE TRADE IN ALL PRODUCTS THAT SUPPORT LOW-CARBON DEVELOPMENT ”global audience. This means that we can expect a huge acceleration of deployment in the coming years. SolarPower Europe estimates that the global solar market could grow from around 230GW installed in 2015 to 710GW by 2020. This is a huge increase and will make a low-carbon energy system a reality.The growth of solar means jobs. It means clean jobs in a clean energy world. The days of people spending hours underground digging out carbon can come to an end sooner than most people imagine. This means a healthier society and better standards of living for all. Solar really can play a driving force in this across the world. It is a technology that fits well with the digitalisation of energy, it is a technology that can jump grid problems that are common in the developing world and, most importantly, it is a technology that can provide clean and secure jobs for huge numbers of people from Panama to Pakistan.DR JAMES WATSON, SOLARPOWER EUROPEKRISTINA THORING, POLITICAL COMMUNICATIONS ADVISOR, SOLARPOWER EUROPESOLAR POWERING THE LOW-CARBON ECONOMYPhoto Credit: REC Group