In a new report published on Tuesday 24 September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that the targets set at COP28 in Dubai of tripling renewable energy installations and doubling energy efficiency (see EUROPE 13306/06) could, on their own, take the world two-thirds of the way towards an energy system that complies with the Paris Agreement by 2030.
If these targets are met correctly, they “would cut global emissions by 10 billion tonnes by 2030 compared with what is otherwise expected”, the report states.
What’s more, they would keep the path towards net zero emissions by 2050 open and offer a chance, “even if still slim and difficult”, of keeping global warming to 1.5°C.
However, in order to achieve these objectives, the Agency estimates that by 2030, the world must reach a global storage capacity of 1,500 GW, build or modernise 25 million kilometres of networks and achieve a share of electricity in final energy consumption of 30%.
At the ‘Sustainability Summit NYC’ on Monday 23 September, the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, also spoke out in favour of translating the COP28 objectives into concrete action.
“COP29 in Baku will be an opportunity to do just that. We need to redouble our efforts to put in place a monitoring framework, maintain the political momentum and further mobilise industry and finance”, she said. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)