Investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency measures and conservation must increase ‘dramatically’ to meet 2030 energy targets, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has said in its World Energy Transitions Outlook 2024, launched at COP29.
According to the World Energy Transitions Outlook 2024, even if all announcements at previous COP meetings were fully implemented, a significant CO2 emission shortfall would still need to be closed by 2050, underscoring the need for accelerated action.
It noted that currently, a ‘significant gap’ exists between announcements made by politicians and world leaders and actual country plans and policies – as things stand, national plans and targets are set to deliver only half of the required growth in renewable power by 2030.
Energy transition targets
At COP28, new global goals to triple renewable power capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030 were established, and these need to be met in order to keep the energy transition on track for net-zero emissions by 2050, as well as to limit global temperature rise to below 1.5°C.
Under IRENA’s 1.5°C Scenario, renewable energy would need to constitute 68% of global electricity by 2030 and 91% by 2050.
However, current national plans are estimated to deliver only half of the renewable power growth needed by 2030, while fossil fuels still dominate the energy supply in many major economies.
According to the report, the G20 must triple its renewable power capacity to reach 9,400 gigawatts by 2030 and increase it sevenfold by 2050 to meet climate goals.
As a result, the third generation of NDCs, are viewed as a critical opportunity for nations to boost their ambitions and take tangible action toward the agreed 2030 targets.
‘Make or break moments’
“We have reached crunch time,” commented Francesco La Camera, director general of IRENA. “A robust global finance deal and the next NDCs in 2025 are ‘make or break’ moments to keep 1.5°C alive. NDCs 3.0 provide the last opportunity this decade for countries to step up their stated ambitions.
“Particularly, an agreement on a new quantified goal for climate finance at COP29 is critical to ensure a just transition, support investments in the Global South and empower countries to step up their NDC ambitions. 1.5°C hinges on efforts by G20 countries. Their NDCs must match global commitments to triple renewable power capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030.”
Achieving these targets will require an estimated $31.5 trillion by 2030 to fund renewable energy, grid improvements, efficiency measures, and conservation efforts, IRENA added. Read more here.
