World Energy Transitions Outlook

• 20 Mar 2021

• The World Energy Transitions Outlook report has been brought out by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
• The report proposes energy transition solutions for the narrow pathway available to contain the rise of temperature to 1.5°C and halt global warming.
• The window of opportunity to achieve the 1.5°C Paris Agreement goal is closing fast. The recent trends show that the gap between where we are and where we should be is not decreasing but widening. We are heading in the wrong direction.
• The IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C released in 2018 clearly indicates that a 45% reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions from 2010 levels is required by 2030. However, emissions have continued to increase, except in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused a dramatic economic slowdown.
• IRENA observes the emergence of a new energy system based on renewable technologies and complemented by green hydrogen and modern bioenergy.
• It estimates that by 2050, 90% of total electricity needs would be supplied by renewables, followed by 6% from natural gas and the remaining from nuclear.