Two leading renewable energy bodies joined the COP28 Presidency today (Monday) in a clarion call for action that can underpin a targeted tripling of global renewable power capacity to 11TW by 2030.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) and Global Renewables Alliance put their names to a joint report which sets out key enablers for meeting climate targets ahead of the COP28 UN climate summit that takes place in Dubai from November 30 to December 12.
The report, launched on the sidelines of a Pre-COP event in Abu Dhabi, was entitled “Tripling Renewable Power and Doubling Energy Efficiency by 2030: Crucial Steps Towards 1.5 °C.”
Setting out what was described as the COP28 Presidency’s "Action Agenda to fast-track just and orderly energy transition” the report highlighted enablers including infrastructure and systems operations, policy and regulation, supply chains, skills and capacities, finance, and international collaboration.
COP28 president Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber commented: “Tripling the deployment of renewable power generation and doubling energy efficiency are amongst the most important levers to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
"I am now calling on everyone to come together, commit to common targets, and take comprehensive domestic and international action, as outlined in this report, to make our ambitions a reality.”
Irena director-general, Francesco La Camera said achieving the targeted tripling of renewable power capacity by 2030 will require “urgently addressing deeply entrenched systemic barriers across infrastructure, policy and institutional capacities stemming from the fossil-fuel era.
He said that Irena’s own World Energy Transitions Outlook, which provides the analytical foundation of the new joint report, warns that the energy transition “is dangerously off-track, demanding immediate, radical collective action".
Bruce Douglas, Global Renewables Alliance CEO, said, "Tripling renewable energy and doubling energy efficiency is the most impactful commitment policymakers can make to combating climate change.
"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."
The fact that the critical COP28 event will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates and presided over by the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), has been questioned by many climate campaigners
But the parties to the joint report launched today described the collaboration between the COP28 Presidency, Irena, and the GRA as a reflection of “the growing global consensus on achieving these targets”.
