Lately, one of many brilliant spots amid gloomy predictions in regards to the local weather has come from the Worldwide Renewable Vitality Company (IRENA) – an Abu Dhabi-based intergovernmental physique – which has persistently identified the plummeting prices and hovering effectivity of unpolluted vitality sources, reminiscent of photo voltaic and wind energy.
On Tuesday, IRENA launched its newest progress report, which reiterated the spectacular rise of renewables – 2024 noticed a record-breaking extra 582 Gigawatts of renewable vitality capability – however warned that that is nonetheless removed from the annual improve essential to wean us off the fossil fuels that are accelerating world warming.
“The clear vitality revolution is unstoppable,” stated Mr. Guterres in response to the examine.
“Renewables are deployed sooner and cheaper than fossil fuels – driving progress, jobs, and reasonably priced energy. However the window to maintain the 1.5°C restrict inside attain is quickly closing. We should step up, scale up and pace up the simply vitality transition – for everybody, in every single place.”
Indonesia is modernizing its electrical energy grid.
Nonetheless off monitor
On the COP28 UN local weather convention, governments dedicated to supply 11.2 Terawatts of vitality from renewable sources by 2030.
So, while the 2024 determine is spectacular, it’s nonetheless means off the 1,122 GW of capability that must be added yearly, if that objective is to be reached in time.
The report calls on the world’s richest international locations to take the lead in turning away from polluting vitality sources reminiscent of coal and oil and lift their share of renewables to round 20 per cent of worldwide capability by the top of the last decade.
A significant improve in funding for the transition is urgently wanted, the stories states, to fund upgrades to electrical energy grids, provide chains, and clean-tech manufacturing for photo voltaic, wind, batteries and hydrogen.