In his address, Francesco La Camera, the president of IRENA, highlighted the pressing need to adopt targeted strategies in order to meet the 2030 goal established at the COP28 conference in Dubai. Our goal is to triple the global solar capacity by the end of this decade.
“We have to triple capacity for all renewable energy sources by the end of this decade” emphasized La Camera. “This requires concrete and immediate action.”
Nevertheless, he pointed out that achieving this ambitious goal will be a challenge in today’s world of divided opinions and political unrest.
Need for speed
“Around 87% of all new power in 2023 was from renewables” stated La Camera. “However, these global numbers hide important nuances. Investments remain concentrated in a few technologies such as solar and wind, while achieving the triple target requires harnessing all renewable sources. A worrying trend is also persistence in geographical concentration.”
It is anticipated that the African continent will play a crucial role in bridging this gap, as its capacity is projected to increase from approximately 26 GW currently to 300 GW by 2030.
“We need a master plan for the continent” emphasized Amani Abou-Zeid, the African Union’s commissioner for infrastructure and energy. “At the COP28 we said enough – now it is time for real action and real implementation.”
Access to financing poses a significant challenge for African countries, as well as other emerging economies.
“The problem comes with the cost of capital” stated Lisa Cummins, the Minister of Energy and Business in Barbados. “We need to accelerate timelines and support climate finance.”
EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson emphasized the importance of tackling these concerns at the upcoming COP29 event in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“There should be a monitoring framework that allows us to follow what is happening, since 132 countries agreed to triple renewables and double energy” expressed Simson. “We are done with strategies, ideas, processes and decisions. It is only time for implementation.”
Concerns of a political nature
The discussion titled “Ministerial Roundtable: Geopolitics of Energy Security” at the assembly highlighted the significant role that geopolitical factors play in the ongoing political discourse surrounding energy. These concerns have gained significant importance due to the commencement of the war in Ukraine and the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine.
“Geopolitical risk is not an argument for inaction – quite the contrary,” Hans Olav Ibrekk, Norway’s special envoy for climate and security, said as the panel opened.
Elizabeth Press, director of planning and program support at IRENA, emphasized the pressing need for countries worldwide to achieve greater energy independence. According to her, a significant majority of the population resides in the neighboring importing country… but it seems that everyone has something to their name. She also mentioned that every country possesses a specific amount of renewable energy resources that can be utilized.
“We have replaced a significant share of natural gas with renewables and we have been able to stabilize markets in Europe” stated Simson. “Last year, 70 GW of renewables and 3 million heat pumps were installed across Europe last year.”
Furthermore, Anna Shpitsberg, the deputy assistant secretary for energy transformation at the US Department of State, emphasized the importance of diversifying investment to mitigate energy risks rather than creating new ones.