BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 7. Under Stated Policies scenario of the International Energy Agency (IEA), investment in clean energy—which includes renewable power, renewable fuels, efficiency, end-use electrification, and grids and networks—would increase to USD 1.7 trillion a year by 2030, roughly 80 percent higher than in 2020, Trend reports with reference to the Energy Progress Report.
IEA’s Net Zero Emissions Scenario projects that annual clean energy investment worldwide would need to more than triple by 2030 to USD 4 trillion. Much of this investment is directed to renewables and efficiency. However, reaching universal energy access by 2030 would require annual investment of USD 35 billion in electricity and USD 6 billion in clean cooking, according to IEA’s Net Zero by 2050 Scenario. This level is only 15 percent of the levels tracked today by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforAll). Under IRENA’s 1.5°C Scenario, investment in clean energy amounts to almost USD 5 trillion a year through 2030, a 60 percent increase over current plans and policies.
The rate of global energy intensity—the percentage decrease in the ratio of global total energy supply per unit of GDP—has slowed from the 2010–15 highs in recent years, as programs in China to replace the most inefficient industrial facilities have reached completion. In addition, the pandemic reduced household and business spending on energy efficiency.
Government programs incentivizing retrofits and upgrades and strengthening appliance and building codes are set to overcome the previously projected near-term slump in energy efficiency, as seen in IEA’s Stated Policies scenario, under which the annual rate of global energy intensity increases from 1.9 percent in 2010–19 to 2.3 percent in 2020–30. The annual rate of improvement would need to reach over 3.2 percent to achieve SDG 7 by 2030. Under IEA’s Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario, the rate would rise to 4.2 percent a year, reflecting the widespread implementation of minimum energy performance standards, building codes, incentives for retrofits of industrial facilities and housing, and bans on the sale of the most inefficient equipment in the coming decade. In IRENA’s 1.5°C Scenario the rate of energy intensity improvement in 2020–30 would need to be 40 percent faster than it was in 2010–19.
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