IRENA: $35trn Needed in Transitional Technologies to Limit Climate Change
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has stated that bout $35 trillion in transitional technology funding is needed by the end of the decade to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius
In a report, IRENA said renewables must account for over 10,000 GW by 2030.
It warned that the world was currently off track to meet its climate goals and prevent the worst impact of the climate emergency. IRENA said that significant work would need to be done to redirect the course of the existing track.
Not only will this require more ambitious climate policies from countries worldwide, it said, but a significant boost in investment will be needed as well as global support for a green transition in lower-income countries.
The report found that an extra $35 trillion of funding will be needed in transitional technologies by the end of the decade to reduce global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as stated in the Paris Agreement targets.
The organisation acknowledged the progress of recent years, mainly in the power sector where renewables now account for 40 per cent of installed power globally. However, the green energy pipeline is far below the amount required to stick to the 1.5oC limit, it said.
To achieve the targets required to limit climate change, renewable energy deployment levels must increase from some 3,000 gigawatts today to over 10,000 GW by 2030, it added.
Most of the progress to date has been concentrated in a few specific regions, with China, the European Union and the US accounting for two-thirds of all new green energy in 2022.
Many developing economies are falling behind, and many continue to rely on fossil fuels as their main source of energy.
Experts worry that too much money is still being pumped into fossil fuel projects, with the risk of leaving stranded assets as the world transitions to green.
The IRENA report came shortly after the publication of a landmark UN Synthesis Report last month, which urged governments to act more radically on climate change.
