The International Energy Agency says full implementation of the energy goals from the COP28 climate summit in Dubai last year would cut carbon pollution and significantly accelerate a shift in the global energy sector.
What's new: IEA's report on Tuesday, seven weeks before COP29 begins, is meant to prod countries into acting on their pledges. Almost 200 countries agreed at the U.N.-led climate summit to achieve net zero emissions from the energy sector by 2050.
What's next: The goals set at COP28 are "the North Star for what the energy sector needs to do," says IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. "Further international cooperation is vital to deliver fit-for-purpose grids, sufficient energy storage and faster electrification, which are integral to move clean energy transitions quickly and securely.”
What's important: IEA has five pillars for global action in the energy sector by 2030 that could help keep alive the 2015 Paris Agreement's preferred goal of limiting global warming to no more than 1.5° Celsius. Fully achieving the COP28 goals for renewables and efficiency would cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 10 billion metric tons by 2030 compared to what is expected.
"These included tripling renewable energy capacity, doubling the rate of energy efficiency progress and significantly reducing methane emissions from fossil fuels," the Paris-based organization says in the report's forward.
"Yet change is never a given. And with the approach of COP29, which will be hosted in Baku, Azerbaijan, the focus must continue to shift towards implementing the promises made in Dubai."
Who's involved: IEA released the report during the United Nations General Assembly's annual gathering of world leaders in New York, which coincides with Climate Week NYC. IEA also is hosting high-level discussions in collaboration with Azerbaijan's COP29 presidency team.
What's happening now: Countries are being asked to build and modernize 25 million kilometers of electricity grids by 2030, IEA says, and to create 1,500 gigawatts of energy storage capacity by 2030, including 1,200 GW that needs to come from battery storage – a 15-fold increase from today. Electric vehicles, heat pumps and stronger efficiency standards also are considered essential.
IEA also updated its Climate Pledges Explorer with information on medium- and long-term climate plans for more than 190 countries, and a list of all net zero pledges globally.
