IRENA Shortlists Five Key Takeaways From COP30 In Belem

Prior to COP30, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) pinpointed five critical areas – investment, grids, supply chains, skills and implementation – in order to advance the global efforts of tripling renewable energy and doubling energy efficiency by 2030, both critical to keep the Paris Agreement goals vital and running.

Its stewardship report ‘Delivering on the UAE Consensus’  consideres the target of 11.2 TW of installed renewable power capacity by 2030 still achievable, owing to the third consecutive year of unsurpassed renewables additions in 2024.

It marked out bottlenecks in investment, grids, supply chains and skills, urging for bolder national renewable targets before COP30 and clear geographical imbalances in renewable deployment, threatening a just and inclusive transition.

1. Investment – there is a need for greater financial commitment to support energy transition reaffirming the role of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and the trends in energy sector commitments in NDC 3.0 showcasing growing alignment with UAE Consensus Goals; as disparity exists in the goals and actual progress.
2. Grids and Flexibility – the infrastructure is not keeping up with the clean energy and upgradation and expansion of electricity grids was greatly emphasized, in line with the Climate Action Agenda. As this accommodates higher shares of renewable power generation, IRENA suggests around USD 700-900 billion per year for cost effective strengthening of the grids.
3. Global financial gap – the COP discussions indicated tenacious gaps between renewable deployment and financial scope, investment levels low for a 1.5ºc-cosistent pathway. Although global investments reached USD 2.4 trillion, it was concentrated in developed countries and China, leaving behind the developed and LDCs.
4. Supply Chain resilience – renewable energy supply chains given prominence for global energy transition success, especially for transnational cooperation where prevailing vulnerabilities and risk need to be addressed.
5. Skills and workforce development – workforce development, skills, social protection and inclusive policy frameworks are primary catalysts for just energy transitions and assert equity, fairness and cooperation.