Renewable records smashed, but tipping goal still out of reach
Global progress report flags bottlenecks to renewable targets.
The world is falling behind on its renewable energy and efficiency goals despite record progress last year, says a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency, the COP30 Brazilian Presidency, and the Global Renewables Alliance.
In 2024, global renewable capacity additions reached 582GW. However, this is not enough to reach the COP28 UAE Consensus target of tripling renewables to 11.2TW by 2030.
Meeting that goal now demands 1,122GW of added capacity every year from 2025 onwards, requiring annual growth to accelerate to 16.6% through the decade, according to the second official tracking report on the landmark energy goals set by the UAE Consensus at COP28.
The progress report, Delivering on the UAE Consensus: Tracking progress toward tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030, also highlights that energy efficiency is an equal concern.
Global energy intensity improved by just 1% in 2024, far below the 4% annual gains needed to meet the UAE Consensus goal and keep the 1.5°C target alive.
The report calls for urgent action to:
- Integrate renewable targets into national climate plans (NDC 3.0) ahead of COP30 in Belém.
- Double collective NDC ambition to align with the global renewables goal.
- Scale investment in renewables to at least $1.4trln per year in 2025-30 – more than doubling the $624bln invested in 2024.
Ben Backwell, Chair of the Global Renewables Alliance, comments, ‘The private sector is driving the energy transition, providing three-quarters of global clean energy investment. Our industries, led by wind, solar and hydropower, are already delivering growth, jobs and security.
'What we need now are long-term government plans that match national ambitions; we need pipelines that deliver projects. Plans must deliver enabling action on grids and storage and help maximise the benefits of the energy transition. This report shows that the march to renewable energy abundance is underway - and it’s time for us to accelerate.’
Beyond renewables, the report underlines the urgent need for investment in grids, supply chains and clean-tech manufacturing for solar, wind, batteries and hydrogen.
