IRENA’s new World Energy Transition Outlook 2022 sets out 2030 priorities to meet its 1.5 o C pathway to 2050.

The Outlook 2022, the second edition, reports that despite progress the energy transition is far from being on track to 1.5 o C and that progress over the next eight years to 2030 will be “critical” to accelerating its trajectory. According to the Outlook a ramping up of renewables, together with an aggressive energy efficiency strategy, is the most realistic path toward halving emissions by 2030. The decarbonisation of end uses, which is described as the “next frontier” after renewables and has lagged, also needs to make much faster progress.

Underpinning these, a comprehensive set of policies is needed to achieve the necessary levels of deployment by 2030 and to maximise the benefits. The 1.5 o C pathway positions renewables, energy efficiency and electrification as the main drivers of the energy transition, followed by hydrogen and carbon capture and storage. Together, they could achieve a cut of nearly 37Gt of annual CO2 emissions by 2050. “Anything short of radical action in the coming years will diminish, even eliminate chances to meet our climate goals,” comments Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA. “Eighty per cent of the global population […]

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