United Nation’s secretary-general António Gueterres, speaking at the launch of the World Meteorological Organization’s state of the global climate report, outlined a five-point plan to accelerate the energy transition and slow global heating. Here is what he said:

“First, renewable energy technologies, such as battery storage, must be treated as essential and freely-available global public goods. Removing obstacles to knowledge sharing and technological transfer – including intellectual property constraints -- is crucial for a rapid and fair renewable energy transition. Storing renewable electricity is often cited as the greatest barrier to the clean energy transition.

I am therefore calling for a global coalition on battery storage to fast-track innovation and deployment – a coalition led and driven by governments, bringing together tech companies, manufacturers, and financiers.

Second, we must secure, scale up and diversify the supply of critical components and raw materials for renewable energy technologies. Today’s supply chains for renewable energy technology and raw materials are concentrated in a handful of countries. The renewable age cannot flourish until we bridge this vast chasm.This will take concerted international coordination. Governments must invest in skills training, research and innovation, and incentives to build supply chains.

Third, governments must build frameworks and reform bureaucracies to level the playing field for renewables. In many countries, these systems still favour deadly fossil fuels. We must prevent bottlenecks, where gigawatts of renewable projects are held up by red tape, permits and grid connections.

I call on governments to fast-track and streamline approvals of solar and wind projects, modernize grids and set ambitious 1.5-degree-aligned renewable energy targets that provide certainty to investors, developers, consumers and producers. Renewable energy policies are fundamental to reduce market risk and drive investment into the sector.

Fourth, governments must shift subsidies away from fossil fuels to protect the poor and most vulnerable people and communities. Every minute of every day, coal, oil and gas receive roughly $11m dollars in subsidies. Each year, governments around the world pour around half a trillion dollars into artificially lowering the price of fossil fuels — more than triple what renewables receive. While people suffer from high prices at the pump, the oil & gas industry is raking in billions from a distorted market. This scandal must stop.

Fifth, private and public investments in renewable energy must triple to at least $4trn a year. For solar and wind power, upfront payments account for 80% of lifetime costs. That means big investments now will reap big rewards for years to come. But some developing countries pay seven times more in financing costs than developed countries. We need blended finance that provides the necessary structures to close existing funding gaps and unlock the trillions held by private actors. This means adjusted risk frameworks and more flexibility to scale up renewable finance. The management and shareholders of multilateral development banks and development finance institutions must take responsibility and be held accountable.

I call on them, including their private arms, to fully align their entire lending portfolios with the Paris Agreement, by 2024 at the latest, and to end all high-emissions high pollution finance. This includes using their balance sheets creatively to accelerate the renewable energy transition. And it means setting targets to substantially finance renewable energy infrastructure, including through technical and policy assistance.

Commercial banks and all elements of the global financial system need to dramatically scale up investments in renewables as they phase out fossil fuels.

UN chief scopes plan to speed global energy transition away from 'dead end' fossil fuels