Led by solar energy, clean energy technologies are keeping the world's hopes alive to achieve a net zero global energy system and limit global warming to the 1.5 °C goal, says the International Energy Agency (IEA). The need of the hour is to triple the expansion of renewable energies till 2030 to a cumulative 11 TW. This will provide the largest emissions reductions to 2030 in the net zero scenario.
In its new report Net Zero Roadmap, the IEA claims the world will be able to meet its energy demand by 2030 if all announced solar PV and battery manufacturing capacity expansion plans are realized, claims the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its new report Net Zero Roadmap.
The scaling up of clean energy is the main factor behind a decline of fossil fuel demand of over 25% this decade in the NZE Scenario. But well-designed policies, such as the early retirement or repurposing of coal-fired power plants, are key to facilitate declines in fossil fuel demand and create additional room for clean energy to expand, according to the report.
In the NZE Scenario, state the analysts, strong growth in clean energy and other policy measures together lead to energy sector CO2 emissions falling by 35% by 2030 compared to 2022.
The world will need to increase its clean energy investments to $4.5 trillion/year by the early 2030s, as against the $1.8 trillion it is expected to invest in 2023. Sharpest jump in investments is required in emerging markets and developing economies other than China.
The IEA assesses that "Annual concessional funding for clean energy in emerging market and developing economies will need to reach around USD 80-100 billion by the early 2030s."
According to IEA analysts, expansion of renewables in the NZE scenario will ensure the world won't need any new long-lead time upstream oil and gas projects, nor new coal mines or extensions of existing ones will be required along with new unabated coal plants.
Advanced economies such as China are expected to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, but most emerging markets and developing economies can get there post 2050. Hence, almost all nations need to bring forward their net zero target timelines, the writers recommend.
Strong international cooperation is also a must to foster an equitable transition as governments need to separate climate from geopolitics, according to the IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
Any delay in increasing ambition to 2030 will lead to additional climate risks and leave the 1.5 °C goal dependent on expensive and unproven carbon removal technologies. "We must do everything possible to stop putting it there in the first place," states the IEA.