Sunset over the Pacific as seen from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
 

The global energy transition is “off-track,” aggravated by the effects of multiple global crises, according to the World Energy Transitions Outlook 2023 Preview from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). 

 

The report called for a “fundamental course correction” in the energy transition. It said that investment and “comprehensive policies across the globe and all sectors” must grow renewables and instigate the structural changes required for what it said would be “the predominantly renewables-based” energy transition.

 

The preview report said that the scale and extent of change falls “far short” of a 1.5°C pathway targeted at international climate summits. It added that progress has been made, notably in the power sector where renewables account for 40% of installed power generation globally, contributing to an “unprecedented” 83% of global power additions in 2022.

 

It said that in order to limit global warming to the 1.5°C target, deployment must grow from some 3,000 GW today to more than 10,000 GW in 2030, an average of 1,000 GW annually. 

 

It noted that deployment is limited to certain parts of the world. China, the European Union and the United States accounted for two-thirds of all additions in 2022.

 

IRENA’s Director-General Francesco La Camera said the emphasis must shift from supply to demand, toward “overcoming the structural obstacles impeding progress.”

 

The preview report outlined three “priority pillars” of the energy transition: the physical infrastructure, policy, and regulatory enablers, and a well-skilled workforce. It said those pillars require “significant investment” and new ways of cooperation in which “all actors can engage in the transition and play an optimal role.”