World’s energy system not on track to meet climate goals: IEA
LONDON: Barely one tenth of renewable energy technology is ready to meet long-term climate change targets as governments have failed to adequately support large-scale deployment, a report by the International Energy Agency showed on Tuesday.
Under a global climate pact, called the Paris Agreement, nearly 200 countries agreed last year to phase out greenhouse gas emissions this century and to limit a global average rise in temperature to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
Energy technology innovation can help achieve a cleaner energy system but strong policy signals are needed, the report said.
Only three out of 26 assessed technologies – electric vehicles, energy storage and mature variable renewables (solar PV and onshore wind) – are on track to meet climate targets, according to the IEA.
“Transformation towards a clean energy system is not in line with stated international policy goals. Many technology areas suffer from a lack of policy support and this impedes their scaled-up deployment,” the report said.
The IEA said the world’s power sector could reach net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2060 under a goal to limit the rise in global temperature to 2 degrees Celsius.
The energy sector could even become carbon neutral by 2060 to limit future temperature increase to 1.75 degrees C by 2100, if technology innovations are “pushed to the limit”.
Global new nuclear capacity additions totalled 10 gigawatt (GW last year, the highest rate since 1990. However, a capacity addition rate of 20 GW annually would be needed to meet goals for limiting temperature rise to 2 degrees C, the report said.
