More than 250 global companies and organizations are urging world leaders to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030, at 11,000 gigawatts (GW). In an open letter they published, they are particularly calling for this commitment to be agreed upon at the upcoming COP28 summit.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will host the climate change conference this year. The event will take place from November 30 until December 12, 2023.
From target to concrete measures
During COP21 in 2015, global leaders agreed to cap the increase in global temperatures at 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050. The collective action of the over 250 organizations seeks to seize the opportunity presented by COP28. According to them, world leaders must translate this objective into concrete measures.
“While there has been progress at the recent G20 summit in New Delhi, actions speak louder than ambition. The renewables industry is ready, willing, and able to step up but we need policymakers to take urgent action to deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement,” stated Bruce Douglas, chief executive officer of the Global Renewables Alliance, the group that initiated the open letter.
Douglas also noted that the world must “start implementing the key enablers like accelerated permitting for projects, investment in grids, and sustainable supply chains.”
What data suggests
Hitting the 1.5 degree Celsius goal necessitates the tripling of the total global renewable energy capacity by 2030. Additionally, there should be a twofold increase in energy efficiency improvement rates. These figures are from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)’s World Energy Transitions Outlook (WETO) for 2023.
To achieve all this, there needs to be approximately $4 trillion in annual investments in transition technologies. This funding will drive the rapid deployment of wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, and other renewable energy sources.
“I am pleased to see that our data builds the ground for the global campaign by the Global Renewable Alliance. IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook calls for an immediate course-correction for a 1.5°C climate pathway, enabled by the tripling of renewable energy capacity by 2030 to at least 11,000 GW globally,” stated Francesco La Camera, IRENA’s director-general.
He added, “The business case for renewables has never been stronger. But we must urgently overcome the systemic barriers across infrastructure, policy, and institutional capabilities in the coming years and build a new energy system that is run on renewables.”
Read: What to expect at COP28 UAE
For a ‘liveable future’
The open letter says that “a step change this decade in renewable energy growth, combined with an increase in energy efficiency, will be the fastest and most cost-efficient way to decarbonize the global economy.”
“It is one of the most impactful commitments that the global community can undertake now to secure a liveable future for all,” their statement further read.
The groups involved in the document represent stakeholders within the energy sector. These include international governmental bodies, energy producers and consumers, supply chain players, civil society, environmental advocates, and the youth. Collectively, they are accountable for a significant portion of the global deployment of renewable energy. Their total market value also surpasses $12 trillion. This figure is the same as the combined gross domestic product of India, Japan, and Germany.
Among the major initiators are the COP28 Presidency, Global Renewables Alliance members, IRENA, UNIDO, The Nature Conservancy, and the Climate Group. American Clean Power, RE100, WBCSD, We Mean Business, REN21, and RMI also signed.
Meanwhile, corporate entities such as Adani, AES, Amazon, Apple, CIP, CEPSA, Corio, DNV, ERM, EY, GCL, Google, Huawei, Microsoft, Ørsted, PepsiCo, ReNew, SSE, TES, Unilever, and Vestas further expressed support.
About half of the signatories come from Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America.
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