RAISING CLIMATE AMBITIONS

THROUGH RENEWABLES

People,
Planet and
Prosperity

RAISING CLIMATE AMBITIONS

THROUGH RENEWABLES
1
 RENEWABLE
ENERGY
OFFERS...

2
1. Key climate
solution
5. Transformed
economies
and societies
2. Readily
available tool

6. New jobs,
CO2 new industries
3. Climate-safe and sustainable
energy livelihoods

4. Cost-competitive 7. Effective
power generation climate action

8. Channel
for sustainable
investment

3
 1
KEY
CLIMATE
SOLUTION
Thirty years from now, our world will be hard to recognise.
Its population will approach 10 billion. Cities will be larger than
ever. Energy systems will become increasingly connected,
empowering people and communities in still unimagined ways.

Through a combination of cost-competitive renewable energy,

energy efficiency and digital systems, carbon-dioxide (CO2)
emissions could be far lower than today.

Fulfilling the Paris Agreement means deploying renewables six

times faster.

4
By 2050, two-thirds
of the world’s energy
should be renewable

5
 2
READILY
AVAILABLE TOOL
We need to set the course for a sustainable energy future based
on existing technologies and realistic policies.

Renewable energy is a key solution to address climate change

and our most practical climate action tool.

Now is the time for decisive action.

6
 Renewables can
cut energy-related
CO2 emissions by
about 70%

Gt/yr

Current
trajectory:
53 Gt/yr

Current
plans:
33 Gt/yr

Renewables,
electrification
70% and energy
efficiency:
of needed
reductions 90%
Other:
10%
CO2 emissions IRENA's
REmap Case
9.8 Gt/yr
2020 2030 2040 2050

Gt/yr = gigatonnes per year

»»Energy-related CO 2
emissions:
Roadmap for faster reduction

7
 3
CLIMATE-SAFE
ENERGY
Renewables and electrification technologies could achieve 90%
of the emission reductions needed to fulfil Paris Agreement
decarbonisation aims.

Today’s plans and policies, including Paris-related pledges, would

leave annual emissions in 2050 close to current levels.

8
 Renewable electricity
has to become the world’s
main energy source

≈20% ≈50%
100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

Today 2050
with
accelerated uptake
Electricity of renewables
Other energy carriers (IRENA's REmap Case)

»»Growing share of electricity i n final energy consumption

9
 4
COST-COMPETITIVE
POWER GENERATION
Renewables have become the least-cost source of new power
generation for locations and markets worldwide. Falling
technology costs have made renewable-based systems the
competitive backbone of energy decarbonisation.

Costs from all commercially available renewable power

technologies continue to fall. Bioenergy, hydropower, onshore
wind and solar PV projects now commonly undercut new fossil
fuel-fired power generation.

Governments are setting increasingly ambitious targets to

harness this clean, sustainable and cost-competitive energy
potential.

10
 Renewable power
generation has
reached a competitive
tipping point

Fossil-fuel
cost range

Biomass

Geothermal

Hydropower

Solar PV

Concentrated
solar power

Offshore wind

Onshore wind

0 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30

USD/kWh
Global average

kWh = kilowatt hours

»»Renewable power generation costs in 2018

11
 5
TRANSFORMED
ECONOMIES
AND SOCIETIES
Renewables and energy efficiency can boost global GDP by
2.5% or even 5% with increased emissions mitigation, analysis by
the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shows.

Today’s energy system is heavily subsidised, with inefficent

fossil-fuel subsidies accounting for a large share. Renewables,
energy efficiency and more flexible power systems could reduce
the total annual subsidies by USD 10 billion.

The transformation would reduce climate and environmental

damage, strengthen economies and improve people’s welfare.

12
 Renewable energy
improves welfare
and saves lives

as Spe
use g n
edu ding
o s
enh ssion cat o
re mi ion n
e
G

re
elfa So
w c
l
nta

Heal
ial

local
we
Environme
consumption

th impacts from
lfare
Material

air pollution

Ec re
ono
m i c we lfa
C
an o n su n t
d
i nv m p t i o me
e st n loy
me Emp
nt

13
 6
NEW JOBS,
NEW INDUSTRIES
AND SUSTAINABLE
LIVELIHOODS
The global shift to renewables is creating job opportunities. The
sector now employs at least 11 million people worldwide, including
over 100 000 through off-grid solar deployment in Sub-Saharan
Africa.

Renewables are helping to expand energy access across Africa

and Asia. Everywhere, renewable energy can drive low-carbon
economic growth.

More countries manufacture, trade and install renewable energy

technologies every year, as policy makers increasingly recognise
the job creation opportunity.

14
 The renewable
energy sector now
employs at least
11 million people
worldwide

Solar
Photovoltaic 3 605
Off-grid solar
Liquid Biofuels 2 063
for energy
access
Hydropower 2 054

Wind Energy 1 160

Solar Heating/
Cooling 801

Solid Biomass 787

Biogas 334
Geothermal
Energy 94
Municipal and
industrial Waste 41
CSP 34
Tide, Wave and
Ocean Energy 1
0 500 1 000 1 500 2 000 2 500 3 000 3 500 4 000
Jobs (thousands)

»»Renewable energy jobs by technology

15
 Percentages of women in STEM, other technical
and administrative jobs in renewable energy *

Women in
renewable energy 32%
28% STEM
jobs 35%

16
 Women hold 32%
of jobs in renewables
compared to 22%
in oil and gas

Women in
oil and gas 22%

45%
Other Administrative
technical jobs jobs

* STEM = science, technology, engineering and mathematics

17
 7
EFFECTIVE
CLIMATE ACTION
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris
Agreement provide a strong framework to reduce emissions and
create resilient economies and societies for the future.
Still, the ambition of current NDC targets could more than
double. While renewable energy deployment grew by 8.5%
yearly in 2015-2018, current NDCs would only increase installed
capacity by 3.6% annually to 2030.

18
 Cost-effective
renewable energy
potential remains
untapped

GW
8 000

7 000

6 000

5 000

4 000

3 000

2 000

1 000

0
n

ia

ld
ea a
ric nd

an ica
a a

p
ib c

As

or
ric ar

rr eri

ro
n
Af a

ce er

W
ia
Af Sah
a

Eu
h st

Ca m

d Am
rt Ea

d A
b-

an atin

an rth
No dle

Su

O
No
id

L
M

+204% +99% +63% +109% +267% +176% +162%

Untapped Additional Renewable Growth

potential capacity installed potential
for 2030 from NDCs capacity over NDC
(2015-2030) (2014) targets

GW = gigawatts

»»Potential installed capacity of renewables by 2030

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 8
CHANNEL
FOR SUSTAINABLE
INVESTMENT
Today’s plans and policies foresee energy investments to 2050
reaching USD 95 trillion. The energy transformation based on
renewables would raise this to USD 110 trillion.

The additional investment amounts, though substantial, are

lower than previously estimated. This is because of continually
falling renewable power costs.

The cumulative payoff by 2050 would be worth between

USD 65 trillion and USD 160 trillion, according to IRENA’s analysis.
Every dollar spent brings returns between three and seven
dollars.

20
 Investments are needed
to ensure a sustainable,
climate-safe future

Current
Renewables 13
plans Electrification and infrastructure** 13
14% Fossil fuels and others* 40

95
14%
41%
USD trillion

31% Energy efficiency 29

Climate-safe
Electrification and infrastructure 26
scenario
18% Fossil fuels and others 20
23%

110
USD trillion
Energy efficiency 37
35%
24%

Renewables 27
»»Cumulative investments until 2050
for a realistic path to meet climate goals
21
"Renewable energy delivers jobs,
delivers on sustainable economic
development and will deliver a
viable climate solution. To fight
climate change and its direct and
related impacts on air pollution,
within the IPCC’s 12-year
window, renewables are the only
ready and available instrument
we have."

Francesco La Camera
Director-General, IRENA

IPCC = Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

FURTHER READING
* Global energy transformation:
A roadmap to 2050

* Renewable power
generation costs in 2018

* Renewable energy and jobs:

Annual review 2019

* Renewable energy:
A gender perspective

* Innovation landscape for

a renewable-powered future

Available on IRENA.org

© IRENA 2019
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