An Oxford University study found that switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy by 2050 could save the world up to $12 trillion (£10.2 trillion). The investigation concluded that it was erroneous and pessimistic to claim that quickly moving to cleaner energy sources would be expensive. Gas prices have risen as concerns about the energy supply have grown. However, the researchers contend that going green currently makes economic sense due to the falling cost of renewable energy.

The report’s results are based on a calculation of future fuel prices using historical price data for fossil and renewable fuels. After adjusting for inflation and market volatility, prices for fossil fuels over a period of more than 100 years from 2020 haven’t changed appreciably. Due to the short history of renewable energy, there is less accessible data. But as technology advances, the cost of solar and wind energy has been rapidly declining, by about 10% a year. Based on “probabilistic” modeling, which uses data on how considerable investment and economies of scale have decreased the cost of other comparable technologies, the report predicts that the cost of renewable energy will continue to decline.