Page 4 - AsiaElec Week 11 2021

AsiaElec COMMENTARY AsiaElec

IRENA warns window of opportunity

is closing for net zero by 2050

The technology to reach net zero by 2050 exists, says IRENA, but fast
action and 30% more investment is needed, by Richard Lockhart

GLOBAL RENEWABLE power, green hydrogen and projected to plummet by 85% to slightly above
modern bioenergy are the key technologies that 11mn barrels per day (bpd) by 2050 from cur-
WHAT: will lead the way to a global net zero system, rent levels, with natural gas remaining the larg-
$131 trillion is needed by the International Renewables Energy Agency est source of fossil fuel at about 52% of current
2050 to reach zero (IRENA) said this week. levels. Pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) global oil
The body said ahead of the launch of this production peaked at over 100mn bpd.
WHY: year’s World Energy Transitions Outlook that The report is far more hopeful that other
More investment in these technologies would allow the global econ- forecasts in terms of the decline of fossil fuels.
existing technology could omy to limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2050 The IEA said in November that world oil
make the Paris targets a and to halt irreversible global warming. demand would continue to rise to a peak of
reality The Outlook sets out how renewables will be 106mn bpd by 2040.
able to account for 90% of all decarbonisation Similarly, OPEC said that oil demand would
WHAT NEXT: efforts in 2050, with carbon-capture and removal peak at 109mn bpd, reached by 2040.
Quick action is needed to technology in combination with bioenergy pro-
avoid playing catch-up viding the last 10% of reductions needed to reach Favourable elements
over the next 30 years net-zero by 2050. La Camera insisted that recent progress had been
The growth of renewables will be based on made, and that it was the responsibility of gov-
falling costs, improving energy efficiency, wide- ernment and private investors to push the green
spread electrification and the development of agenda and to foster a sustainable economy.
green hydrogen. “While the pathway is daunting, several
However, IRENA warned that the global favourable elements can make it achievable,” La
economy was currently heading in the wrong Camera added. “Major economies accounting
direction, and that global leaders risked losing for over half of global CO2 emissions are turn-
the present window of opportunity to use cur- ing carbon-neutral. Global capital is moving
rent technology to meet the 1.5°C Paris Agree- too. We see financial markets and investors
ment goals. shifting capital into sustainable assets. COVID-
It therefore called for immediate fast and 19 has highlighted the cost of tying economies
bold actions to meet these targets, and said that to fossil fuels and confirmed the resilience of
the COP26 conference in Glasgow was a key renewable energy,” he said.
stepping stone to making crucial and decisive The report found that what it terms the 1.5°C
decisions. pathway would require renewables output to
treble 2050, while fossil fuel use would decline
What is needed by 75%. It would need natural gas usage to peak
“The window of opportunity to achieve the 1.5°C around 2025, although it would become the
Paris Agreement goal is closing fast. The recent largest remaining fossil fuel by 2050.
trends show that the gap between where we are The report said that fossil fuels still have
and where we should be is not decreasing but roles to play by 2050, mainly in power and to an
widening. We are heading in the wrong direc- extent in industry, providing 19% of the primary
tion,” said Francesco La Camera, Director-Gen- energy supply in 2050. It predicted that 70% of
eral of IRENA. natural gas would be consumed in power/heat
“The World Energy Transitions Outlook plants and in blue hydrogen production.
considers options of the narrow pathway we In investment terms, what is needed is
have to be in line with the 1.5°C goal. We need another 30% rise in existing investment com-
a drastic acceleration of energy transitions to mitments to a total of $131 trillion between
make a meaningful turnaround. Time will be 2021 and 2050, or $4.4 trillion per year of so far
the most important variable to measure our unmade investment commitments.
efforts,” he went on.
For example, in the oil sector IRENA’s 1.5°C Fossil fuel alternatives
pathway forecasts that global oil production is The report said that post-COVID-19 recovery

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