The global energy system will change considerably by 2030 with a significantly greater role played by clean technologies, including renewables’ share of the global power mix nearing 50%, up from around 30% now, according to the International Energy Agency’s new World Energy Outlook 2023, presented today.
These changes will happen based only on the current policy settings. However, IEA said that much stronger policies are needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees C.
“The transition to clean energy is happening worldwide and it’s unstoppable. It’s not a question of ‘if’, it’s just a matter of ‘how soon’ – and the sooner the better for all of us,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol.
In the scenario based on today’s policy settings, global demand for coal, oil and natural gas will all peak in the current decade, while fossil fuels’ share in global energy supply, which has stayed at around 80% for decades, will fall to 73% by 2030.
The report proposes five key actions to get the world on track by 2030, which are: tripling global renewable capacity; doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvements; slashing methane emissions from fossil fuel operations; establishing innovative, large-scale financing mechanisms to boost clean energy investments in emerging and developing economies; and introducing measures to ensure an orderly decline in the use of fossil fuels.
It also highlights the potential for stronger solar growth this decade. Renewables are set to provide 80% of new power generation capacity to 2030 under current policy settings and solar is expected to account for more than half of this. Solar has much larger potential, though. By the end of the decade, the world is set to have the capacity to manufacture more than 1,200 GW of solar panels per year. At the same time, it is projected to deploy only 500 GW in 2030.
IEA further noted that the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have again refocused attention on energy security concerns.
Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!
