At the ongoing COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, global leaders came together to unveil major new initiatives focused on accelerating the transition to clean energy and supporting peace, relief, and recovery efforts.
The COP29 Presidency hosted a High-Level Roundtable on Green Energy, Hydrogen and Global Energy Storage and Grids, where it officially launched three key energy-focused initiatives and called for widespread endorsement.
The first, the COP29 Global Energy Storage and Grids Pledge, sets a collective goal of deploying 1,500 GW of energy storage globally by 2030 – over 6 times the 2022 capacity. It also includes a commitment to add or refurbish 25 million kilometers of power grids by 2030, recognizing the need for a 65 million km expansion by 2040.
“With the world moving at speed into the age of electricity, the IEA’s analysis has made very clear that in order to meet energy and climate goals – including tripling global renewable power capacity this decade while strengthening energy security – countries need to rapidly increase energy storage and also expand and upgrade their electricity grids,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
The COP29 Green Energy Pledge: Green Energy Zones and Corridors initiative aims to promote the development of interconnected power grids that can transmit abundant renewable energy from generation hubs to population centers in need. By creating these green energy zones and corridors, the pledge seeks to enable cost-effective and secure long-distance electricity transmission.
IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera stated, “The COP29 Energy Initiatives are vital to keep the window towards 1.5°C open. Achieving the goal of tripling renewable capacity by 2030 requires not only scaling up generation, but also overcoming the challenges associated with integrating renewables into the grids. Storage solutions, grid expansion and significant investment are critical enablers.”
The third initiative, the COP29 Hydrogen Declaration, sets out commitments to rapidly scale up renewable, clean, and low-carbon hydrogen production, while also accelerating the decarbonization of existing fossil fuel-based hydrogen. The declaration aims to significantly increase green hydrogen production from the current 1 million tonnes per year and reduce the 96 Mt of unabated fossil fuel-based hydrogen.
In addition to these energy-focused initiatives, COP29 also saw the launch of several peace, relief, and recovery commitments. Delegates pledged support for initiatives to provide humanitarian aid, restore infrastructure, and facilitate economic recovery in conflict-affected regions.
These collective commitments from government, industry, and civil society representatives demonstrate the broader vision of COP29 to not only drive ambitious climate action, but also enable a just transition that supports global stability, security, and wellbeing.