Tripling renewables, doubling efficiency goal to be in final COP28 text, more countries likely joining: IEA chief

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (VIDEO RELEASED ON DECEMBER 6, 2023 : Pledges to triple global renewable capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030 will likely be included in the final text of negotiations at COP28, with more countries joining in over the coming days, according to Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Renewable energy capacity across the world is already growing very fast on a way to more than doubling, Birol told Anadolu on the sidelines of the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). A total of 118 countries, including the COP28 host UAE, US, Brazil, Japan, UK, Mexico, Poland, Germany, Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Kenya, the Netherlands, Nigeria and Spain signed a pledge on the third day of the summit to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by the end of this decade. “Even without such a commitment, global renewable energy capacity will more than double by 2030, according to our estimates. We proposed tripling of it and over 100 countries have agreed on this,” Birol said. Tripling global renewable energy capacity means the world needs to reach 11,000 gigawatts by 2030. According to energy think tank Ember’s calculations based on net-zero scenarios of the IEA and the International Renewable Energy Agency, annual renewable installations are expected to reach about 500 gigawatts in 2023, placing the renewables capacity at 3,870 gigawatts at the end of this year. To achieve the tripling objective, roughly 7,000 gigawatts have to be installed in seven years.(Footage by Nuran Erkul Kaya /Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)