A new International Energy Agency (IEA) report, published Tuesday, says that the COP28 goals to triple renewable energy and double energy efficiency by 2030 are “feasible” with the right enabling conditions.
Last December, almost 200 countries pledged to transform the energy system by 2030. If acted upon, the IEA says this would push the world closer towards its climate goals.
Indeed, according to the IEA report, tripling renewables and doubling efficiency targets could, on their own, get the world “fully two-thirds of the way” to a Paris-aligned energy system by 2030.
However, in the months following COP28, the consensus has been that the world was falling far short of progress.
Indeed, it was only back in June that the IEA warned the world would miss the target, with countries failing to take concrete action and a significant gap between ambition and implementation.
Last year, the energy sector also saw the highest-ever emissions.
This week, the Agency says that favourable economics, ample manufacturing potential and strong policies mean the tripling goal is “within reach.”
However, greater capacity alone will not slash fossil fuel use and “clean up” the world’s power systems.
Indeed, the report outlines that countries must now build and modernise 25 million kilometres of electricity grids by 2030, alongside 1, 500 gigawatts (GW) of energy storage capacity.
According to the IEA, 1,200GW of this needs to come from battery storage, a 15-fold increase on today’s level.
Further, it outlines that countries must now use the UAE Consensus as “the compass” for their next round of Nationally Determined Contributions.
According to the IEA, the report is the “first comprehensive global analysis of what putting the targets into practice would achieve—and how it can be done.”
To ensure the world doesn’t miss this huge opportunity, the focus must shift rapidly to implementation,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol in a statement this week.
The need for a more “granular, country-specific approach” to doubling energy efficiency was also underlined—potentially cutting global energy costs by almost 10 per cent, reducing emissions by 6.5 billion tonnes.
“As this new IEA report shows, the COP28 energy goals should lay the foundation for countries’ new climate targets under the Paris Agreement – they are the North Star for what the energy sector needs to do. And further international cooperation is vital to deliver fit-for-purpose grids, sufficient energy storage and faster electrification, which are integral to move clean energy transitions quickly and securely,” added Birol.