Renewables growth rate insufficient to meet 2030 target: IRENA

The world risks missing a goal to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 as the current growth rate is inadequate, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said in a report on July 11.

A UN climate change conference in Dubai last year set a goal of tripling renewable energy capacity worldwide by 2030 to more than 11 terawatts (TW).

To meet the target, the world will have to add renewables capacity at a minimum 16.4% rate annually to 2030. However, if last year's 14% increase rate continues, the 11 TW target will be 1.5 TW short.

The unprecedented increase in the capacity of renewable energy resources by 14% in 2023 led to a compound annual growth rate of 10% from 2017 to 2023.

If the world keeps its historic annual growth rate of 10%, it will only accumulate 7.5 TW of renewables capacity by 2030, missing the target by almost one third, IRENA data showed.

"Renewable energy has been increasingly outperforming fossil fuels, but it is not the time to be complacent," said Francesco La Camera, director general of IRENA.

"If we continue with the current growth rate, we will only face failure in reaching the tripling renewables target agreed at COP28 held in the UAE last year, risking the goals of Paris Agreement and 2030 Sustainable Development Plan," he added.