Sep 10, 2014 - The global deployment of renewable energy needs to be accelerated in order to bring the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels below the point at which severe climate change will occur, a International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) report says.
The intergovernmental agency on Monday published the first edition of its REthinking Energy report, which reviews progress in the global transition to a sustainable energy future.
According to REmap 2030, a global roadmap developed by IRENA, average CO2 emissions will decrease to just 498 grams per kWh (g/kWh) by 2030 in the business-as-usual case. This, in turn, would not be enough to maintain atmospheric CO2 levels below 450 parts per million (ppm). “The good news is that renewable energy provides a viable and affordable solution to address climate change today,” said Adnan Z Amin, director-general. The agency has estimated that by doubling the share of renewables the world will cut the global average CO2 emissions to 349 g/kWh.
In its report, IRENA points out that electricity generation has surged by more than 250% over the past 40 years, as the world’s population increased to seven billion from four billion people and the middle class expanded, consuming greater quantities of energy. The global population is seen to surpass eight billion by 2030, which in turn would boost energy consumption along with CO2 emissions. Power production is projected to jump 70% by 2030 to approximately 37,000 TWh from 22,126 TWh in 2011.
In the past 10 years, the renewable power capacity around the globe has jumped 85%, reaching 1,700 GW in 2013. Renewables today account for 30% of all installed power capacity, IRENA calculates. Given that the cost of renewable energy technologies such as solar photovoltaic (PV) and onshore wind have fallen significantly over the past six years, the new challenge is to identify the best way to finance such projects and to speed up their deployment, IRENA said. For the purpose, policy makers should focus on reducing sector uncertainty by making it clear for investors that renewable energy will gain a larger part of the national energy mix. They need to commit to long-term, non-financial support mechanisms.
Private finance is considered to be increasingly ready to step in and replace governmental financial backing at a time when governments have begun to lower their support, the agency noted. One of the reasons for this is the fact that developers, now being more experienced in the renewables sector, can better estimate cash flow, while financiers are doing a better job assessing risk accurately.
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