REM: $35 trillion renewables investment needed by 2030 – IRENA

The global energy transition is “off-track”, aggravated by the effects of world-wide crises, says the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in a new report. A renewables investment of $35 trillion by 2030 is needed for a successful energy transition.

The agency’s new World Energy Transitions Outlook Preview warns of a dramatic lack of progress, and calls for strategic shift in the energy transition to sustain a 1.5^°C climate target.

IRENA is an inter-governmental organisation that promotes the adoption of renewables. 

The report noted that progress has been made, notably in the power sector where renewables now account for 40% of installed power generation globally, contributing to an unprecedented 83% of global power additions in 2022.

But to keep 1.5°C alive, deployment levels must grow from some 3,000 GW today to more than 10,000 GW in 2030, an average of more than 1,000 GW annually.

Deployment has so far been limited to certain parts of the world. China, the European Union and the US accounted for two-thirds of all additions in 2022, leaving developing nations further behind, said IRENA.