First, the good news: The amount of clean energy being generated worldwide is at
record levels. Capacity increased by almost 10 percent in the last 12 months;
and an impressive 83 percent of all new power that came on stream was produced
by renewable-energy systems such as wind and
solar.
While the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) warns that the
sector must grow to three
times
its current level by 2030 if we are to stay on a 1.5° Celsius pathway, the
consistent growth shows “the resilience of renewable energy amidst the lingering
energy crisis,” says IRENA Director-General Francesco La
Camera.
However, new data show that while clean-energy installation continues to soar, a
number of barriers remain that are making it hard for many economies to shift
fully away from fossil fuels.
REN21’s latest Renewables in Energy Supply
module, launched as part
of its annual Renewables 2023 Global Status Report, suggests a lack of
attention has been paid to energy technologies and carriers beyond wind and
solar power. Deficient policies, permit bottlenecks and uneven investment are
exacerbating the problem, according to the think tank.
The group has examined the way final energy is distributed among heat, fuel and
electricity; geographies and technologies — including bioenergy, geothermal
power and heat, heat pumps, hydrogen, hydropower, solar PV, concentrated solar
power, solar thermal heat, ocean power and wind power. Right now, the global
energy supply base is split between providing heat (49 percent) and fuel (29
percent), with electricity having the lowest share (22 percent). In 2022, the
share of renewables across the entire power sector reached 30 percent, largely
thanks to favourable long-term policies that have helped to drive down costs.
‘But across all sectors, renewables cover just 12.7 percent of the total energy
system — which is a relatively low share in the larger scheme of things,” REN21
Executive Director Rana Adib told Sustainable Brands®.
An exploration of the other energy carriers — fuels and heat, which provide most
of the world’s energy — reveals what Adib claims to be “dismal” renewable energy
shares of just 3.6 percent and 9.2 percent, respectively.
“It shows that efforts are narrowly focused on transitioning the power supply.
Such a limited focus is ultimately slowing the shift to a renewables-based
system, delaying efforts to reach the Sustainable Development
Goals and maintaining the
status quo of energy insecurity,” she adds.
Both the International Energy Agency (IEA) net-zero
scenario and IRENA’s 1.5°
Celsius
scenario
suggest that electricity will supply just 50 percent of our total energy by the
middle of the century. That’s why it’s crucial more attention is paid to
renewable heat and fuels, as well as diversifying renewable-energy technologies,
Adib says.
“We cannot continue to neglect the other carriers — renewable heat and fuels —
if we are serious about cutting emissions and addressing the climate, energy and
poverty crises. It took time, investment and policy attention to expand to 30
percent renewable power. We now need to award heat and fuels similar policy
attention to achieve the critical shift we need.”
So, what does that look like? Are there some quick wins from a policy point of
view that might help to shift the renewables market? One very quick win would be
to address the permitting issues that continue to cause delays, Adib says: “If
there’s political will, it can happen. But governments need to stop sending
mixed signals on fossil
fuels.
They continue to subsidize fossil fuels when clearly renewables are the
least-cost option; but they are not operating in a level playing field.”
Currently, projects that could generate more than 1
terawatt
of renewable energy are still waiting to be constructed and connected to the
grid in all parts of the world, due to delays in permitting and a lack of
investment in grid infrastructure. “It's like, you manufacture cars and wait for
roads. When we built cars, we did it with confidence that roads will accompany
the process. The same thought and action process must apply to renewables,” she
asserts.
What role can the business community play on the demand side? After all,
companies are not passive bystanders in this debate; demand will fuel supply, so
to speak. Adib wants businesses to continue being strong allies for renewables
by investing in their own clean-energy
capacities,
moving to renewable
electricity,
changing vehicle fleets to
electric,
and showing a willingness to participate in the energy and heat transition.
Proving to governments that there is absolutely the demand for clean energy is
crucial — especially at a time when the pro-fossil fuel movement is as strong as
ever and getting more difficult to
identify,
due to the prevalence of
greenwashing.
“Right now, there’s a real push for hydrogen. But the reality is that, globally,
just 1 percent of the hydrogen produced is produced from renewable
energy
— all the rest is fossil-fuel-based,” Adib says. “So, this already requires
quite of a technical understanding of what is happening. That’s a big risk.
“The energy crisis has shown the importance of security of supply. To shield us
from new crises, policymakers must immediately ramp up efforts in all
renewable-energy technologies — including hydropower, geothermal,
ocean,
CSP and
bioenergy. If we don’t quickly evolve these alongside solar PV and wind, we will
still need to depend on coal, oil and gas, and nuclear for our energy supply
well into the future.”
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Content creator extraordinaire.
Tom is founder of storytelling strategy firm Narrative Matters — which helps organizations develop content that truly engages audiences around issues of global social, environmental and economic importance. He also provides strategic editorial insight and support to help organisations – from large corporates, to NGOs – build content strategies that focus on editorial that is accessible, shareable, intelligent and conversation-driving.
Published Jun 23, 2023 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST