“When I look into the future, it’s so bright it burns my eyes.”
Oprah Winfrey
At the big international climate meeting last year (COP28), nearly all countries of the world agreed to a goal of tripling renewable energy by 2030. Achieving this will cut our need for fossil energy and catapult us toward net-zero emissions by 2050. Well, the International Energy Agency just released a report saying this goal is within reach. It’s refreshing to have a bright spot in the midst of gloomy climate news.
Did they say it would be easy? No. No, they didn’t. But solar and wind are expanding around the world at a faster pace than predicted even a few years ago. The biggest hurdle will be increasing grid transmission and energy storage capacity to handle all this new energy. We will also need to simultaneously improve energy efficiency.
A few highlights from the report:
- Solar is leading the charge – 80% of new clean energy is expected to come from photovoltaics
- China’s renewable growth will make up 60% of global energy added over the next 6 years
- China is expected to be home to half of the world’s renewable capacity in 2030
- Clean energy is the cheapest new option in nearly every country in the world
- Renewables are on track to meet half of all global electricity demand by the end of the decade
A bright spot
I’ll admit when I read about this goal after the COP meeting last year, I was bit skeptical it was realistic. But the explosion of clean energy this past year has been surprising to even energy experts. The growth is party due to policies like the Inflation Reduction Act. The IRA has spurred private investment of over $350 billion in clean energy projects. It is also bringing manufacturing back to the US, and created over 300,000 new jobs.
Lately we are seeing more and more evidence of the dangers of a warmer world. Hopefully the attention from the recent storms will convince more leaders that the time to solve climate change is now. We can help by connecting the dots between climate change and extreme weather when we talk to family and friends.
Let’s do something about climate change. Learn about it. Think about it. Talk about it.