Renewable energy needs to be scaled up at least six times faster for the world to meet the decarbonisation and climate mitigation goals set out in the Paris Agreement, says Global Energy Transformation: A Roadmap to 2050.

The historic 2015 climate accord seeks, at minimum, to limit average global temperature rise to “well below 2°C” in the present century, compared to pre-industrial levels. As this 2018 report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shows, renewable energy and energy efficiency can, in combination, provide over 90% of the necessary energy-related CO2 emission reductions. 

Furthermore, this can happen using technologies that are safe, reliable, affordable and widely available. While different paths can mitigate climate change, renewables and energy efficiency provide the optimal pathway to deliver most of the emission cuts needed at the necessary speed.

Actual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission trends are not yet on track.  Under current and planned policies, (including Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement), the world would exhaust its energy-related carbon budget in less than 20 years. Even then, fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal would continue to dominate the global energy mix for decades to come.

Report by IRENA