Despite the acceleration in the field of renewable energy, the world is falling behind its targets, said Gauri Singh, Deputy Director-General at the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), during her speech at the Baku Energy Forum, APA-Economics reports.
According to her, the renewable energy agenda advanced by COP29 and the MAPU processes received significant momentum at COP28:
"The IRENA agency I represent led an initiative at COP28, hosted by the UAE, which brought together more than 130 countries to agree on tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030. This marked a serious departure from the previous 'business-as-usual' approach."
Gauri Singh noted that although there has been progress in this direction, the world is still far from reaching the set goals: "In 2023, 585 gigawatts of new renewable energy facilities were commissioned globally. Investments in the renewable energy sector also increased by approximately $100 billion compared to the previous year. Although the annual growth rate in this sector is about 23%, it is still not sufficient to reach the goal."
She added that the currently installed global renewable energy capacity is approximately 4.5 terawatts, whereas this figure needs to reach 11 terawatts by 2030.
Nevertheless, the capabilities of technologies and economic fundamentals make this transition feasible: "The production cost of energy from newly built solar and wind power stations is significantly lower than that of new coal and gas plants. Currently, renewable energy is more cost-effective in 96% of technologies. This already forms not only an environmentally but also an economically attractive business model."
Gauri Singh emphasized that in order to maintain the current momentum, it is essential to implement the commitments made during COP29 and further strengthen cooperation among countries.
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