- Renewables will contribute 80% to new power generation capacity by 2030.
- The report also explored the potential for stronger growth of solar PV this decade.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has said there will be almost ten times as many electric cars on the road worldwide. Based on the current policy setting, the IEA stated that the energy world will change significantly by 2030. According to the IEA’s new ‘World Energy Outlook 2023’ report, the share of renewables in the global electricity mix will reach 50 per cent by 2030 from the current 30 per cent.
The combination of growing momentum behind clean energy technologies and structural economic shifts around the world has major implications for fossil fuels, with peaks in global demand for coal, oil and natural gas all visible this decade. The report revealed that the investment in new offshore wind projects would increase by three times by 2030 in new coal and gas-fired power plants.
Renewables will contribute 80 per cent to new power-generation capacity by 2030 under current policy settings, with solar power alone accounting for more than half of this expansion, according to the report. “If countries deliver on their national energy and climate pledges on time and in full, clean energy progress would move even faster. However, even stronger measures would still be needed to keep alive the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius,” the IEA report mentioned.
The combination of growing momentum behind clean energy technologies and structural economic shifts around the world has major implications for fossil fuels, with peaks in global demand for coal, oil and natural gas all visible this decade. In this scenario, the share of fossil fuels in the global energy supply, stuck for decades at around 80 per cent, declines to 73 per cent by 2030, with global energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions peaking by 2025.
IEA Executive Director, Fatih Birol, said, “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. Every country needs to find its own pathway, but international cooperation is crucial for accelerating clean energy transitions. In particular, the speed at which emissions decline will largely hinge on our ability to finance sustainable solutions to meet rising energy demand from the world’s fast-growing economies. This all points to the importance of redoubling collaboration and cooperation, not retreating from them.”