IEA Urges Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth to Meet 2030 Targets

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has highlighted the need for an accelerated pace of global renewable energy capacity growth to achieve the ambitious targets set at the COP28 U.N. climate conference in Dubai last December. While renewable energy capacity is projected to expand by two and a half times by 2030, governments must enhance their efforts to triple this capacity, reaching at least 11,000 gigawatts (GW) as agreed at the climate talks.

According to the IEA’s annual renewable energy outlook report, newly added renewable capacity in the previous year surged by 50%, reaching 510 GW and bringing the total installed capacity to 3,700 GW. Under existing policies and market conditions, the global renewables capacity is estimated to reach 7,300 GW by 2028. However, to meet the 2030 target, substantial growth is required.

Governments worldwide committed to tripling renewable energy generation capacity by 2030 and transitioning away from fossil fuels. Nevertheless, the IEA emphasized the lack of agreed-upon financing mechanisms for the shift to clean energy in developing countries, posing a significant challenge to achieving the set goals.

The report identified scaling up financing and deployment of renewables in emerging and developing economies as the most significant hurdle. IEA’s Executive Director, Fatih Birol, emphasized the need for support for African and low-income countries in Asia and Latin America, highlighting that without assistance, meeting clean energy targets would be challenging.

Several factors contribute to the challenges, including higher inflation and interest rates impacting the costs of renewables projects, slow policy adjustments to the changing macro-economic environment, insufficient investment in grids, and bureaucratic hurdles in permitting procedures.

China played a pivotal role in last year’s renewable growth and is anticipated to contribute nearly 60% of new renewable capacity by 2028. The country’s role is crucial in achieving the 2030 targets, with expectations that it will install more than half of the required global capacity by the decade’s end.

Solar photovoltaic and onshore wind additions are also anticipated to more than double in the United States, the European Union, India, and Brazil by 2028 compared to the previous five years.

Despite numerous announcements about green hydrogen projects, progress in this area remains slow. The IEA noted that only 7% of current green hydrogen projects are expected to come online by 2030. Green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy, is considered a cleaner fuel for energy-intensive industries and transport. The report underscores the need for concerted efforts to overcome obstacles and ensure substantial progress toward achieving renewable energy goals globally.

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