Outlining ‘a way forward to immediately course correct the 1.5°C climate pathway’, the first volume of IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook (WETO) 2023 calls for raised global ambition in renewables deployment, enabled by physical infrastructure, policy and regulations, and underlining institutional and workforce capabilities.

The WETO 2023: 1.5°C Pathway report positions electrification and efficiency as key transition drivers, enabled by renewable energy, clean hydrogen and sustainable biomass, and tracks implementation across all energy sectors. According to the latest edition, some progress has been made, mainly in the power sector with record additions in global renewable capacity of 300 GW in 2022. However, the gap between what has been achieved and what is required continues to grow, warns IRENA.

More ambitious renewable energy targets are needed. The world must add an average of 1,000 GW of renewable power capacity annually by 2030, as well as significantly increase the direct use of renewables in end-use sectors, says the report. With the first Global Stocktake concluding at COP28 in the United Arab Emirates later this year, WETO aims to provide much-needed clarity on priority actions in the coming years.

‘We face the harsh reality that we are not on track to deliver on the Paris Agreement,’ comments IRENA’s Director-General Francesco La Camera. ‘Our only option is to follow the most promising, science-based pathway. One that puts renewable energy at the centre of the solution, while leading countries to energy security, reduced energy costs and forward-looking industrial development. The energy transition must become a strategic tool to foster a more equitable and inclusive world. COP28 and the Global Stocktake must not only confirm our deviation from a 1.5°C pathway, but also provide a strategic blueprint to steer us back on track.’

The COP28 President-Designate, HE Dr Sultan al-Jaber, adds: ‘A goal alone is not enough. This report provides us with a solid pathway to implementation… The speed at which the energy transition happens depends on how quickly we can phase up zero-carbon alternatives, whilst ensuring energy security so that nobody is left behind. We also need the political will to create the necessary conditions to rapidly scale up renewables. This must create the frameworks for end-to-end delivery and provide the accessible and affordable finance necessary for project pipelines. To meet our 2030 targets, we need urgent action to fast-track expansions of grid infrastructure, to reduce permitting timelines, and to reduce the cost of capital in emerging markets and developing economies.’

‘The energy transition must become a strategic tool to foster a more equitable and inclusive world,’ concludes al-Jaber.

Focusing on the enablers of a renewables-dominated system can help address the structural barriers hindering progress in the energy transition, says the report, which has identified that getting the 1.5°C pathway back on track requires addressing the following barriers:

• A lack of physical infrastructure.
• An absence of enabling policies and regulations.
• Misalignments in skills and institutional capacity.

‘Adding speed and scale to the energy transition requires rewriting international cooperation,’ the report continues. ‘This necessitates an assessment of the roles and responsibilities of national and regional entities, international organisations, international financial institutions and multilateral development banks to ensure their optimal contributions to the energy transition.’ It also means ensuring that funds reach the world’s most vulnerable.

WETO provides the analyses and the narrative for COP28, and supports the call by the COP28 President-Designate to ‘build coalitions that deliver end-to-end support across the renewables ecosystem and enables us to triple renewable energy capacity as part of a just energy transition that leaves nobody behind’.