Renewables capacity must triple to keep 1.5°C goal alive state COP28 partners

A new report has been launched by the COP28 Presidency, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and the Global Renewables Alliance (GRA) calling for systemic barriers to renewables and energy efficiency to be removed and for global collaboration to achieve energy targets.

The report, Tripling Renewable Power and Doubling Energy Efficiency by 2030: Crucial Steps Towards 1.5 °C, provides policy recommendations for governments and the private sector on how to increase global renewable energy capacity while doubling annual average energy efficiency improvements.

The report, launched on the sidelines of pre-COP28 in Abu Dhabi, draws on the analysis presented in IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook 2023: 1.5 °C pathway and provides the following recommendations:

• Total global renewable power generation capacity needs to triple by 2030 to reach more than 11,000GW, with solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind power accounting for about 90% of renewable energy capacity additions.
• Energy efficiency improvements must double by 2030, through a combination of technologies and electrification.
• A comprehensive policy mix will be needed to achieve these green ambitions, coupled with a structural change to ensure the transition to a just and fair energy-efficient economy and renewables-based power system.
• Energy efficiency policy measures should include the adoption of targets with specific time horizons; strong regulatory frameworks; fiscal and financial incentives; and public campaigns to build awareness.
• The organisational structures of power sectors must be reshaped, including procurement mechanisms, industrial policies education, training, re-skilling and up-skilling.
• Existing electricity infrastructure must be expanded and modernised together with boosting crosssector infrastructure planning, increasing cross-border cooperation and developing regional power grids.
• Renewable power capacity should be increased more rapidly in developing countries to support the growing power demand.
• Public and private finance must be rapidly mobilised to reach an annual average investment in renewable power generation of $1 300 billion by 2030, compared to 486 billion in 2022.

Have you read?
Renewables jobs nearly doubled in past decade finds IRENA
Modest progress being made in power sector collaboration – Breakthrough Agenda

The Tripling Renewable Power and Doubling Energy Efficiency by 2030: Crucial Steps Towards 1.5 °C report also encourages stronger international collaboration and knowledge sharing coupled with collective action on governance, climate finance and innovation.

IRENA director-general Francesco La Camera stated, “Our mission is as clear as it is urgent: We need concerted action to triple renewable power capacity by 2030. This includes urgently addressing deeply entrenched systemic barriers across infrastructure, policy and institutional capacities stemming from the fossil-fuel era.

"IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook, which provides the analytical foundation of this report, warns that the energy transition is dangerously off-track, demanding immediate, radical collective action. This report outlines actions governments must prioritize to fast-track the global energy transition and keep 1.5 °C alive.”

Bruce Douglas, Global Renewables Alliance CEO, said: "The rapid upscaling of renewable energy will require policymakers to work hand-in-hand with industry and civil society to urgently implement the enabling actions in this report - infrastructure and system operation; policy and regulation; and supply chains, skills, and capacities. Critically, these areas must be reinforced by low-cost financing and international collaboration. Working together to secure a livable future for all."