A technician fixing photo voltaic panels on a roof. PHOTO/File.
By Patrick Mayoyo
newshub@eyewitness.africa
The Renewable Power Statistics 2025 launched by the Worldwide Renewable Power Company (IRENA) reveals that regardless of renewables capability rising by over 15 p.c in 2024, the expansion hole widens throughout areas.
Asia has stored its main place because the previous few years, accounting for 71 p.c of latest renewables capability in 2024, adopted by Europe and North America (respectively contributed 12.3 p.c and seven.8 p.c to the addition), leaving an enormous hole with Africa, Eurasia, Central America and the Caribbean which collectively solely accounted for two.8 p.c of complete renewables capability addition. Regardless of its huge financial and growth alternatives, Africa solely elevated its renewables capability by 7.2 p.c.
Commenting on the info replace, IRENA Director-Common Francesco La Digital camera stated: “The renewable vitality growth is reworking international vitality markets, driving economies and creating huge funding alternatives. Nevertheless, the rising regional divide highlights that not everyone seems to be benefiting equally from this transition.”
La Digital camera stated nations and areas that appeal to substantial funding in renewables are seeing enhanced vitality safety, elevated industrial exercise, and new jobs, fueling broader socioeconomic growth.
La Digital camera added: “Bridging the divide and shutting the funding hole between nations and areas is crucial. It requires focused insurance policies, worldwide financing, and partnerships that unlock capital and expertise the place they’re wanted most.”
He stated by aligning funding flows with coverage frameworks, nations can be certain that the inexperienced transition turns into a strong engine for resilience and sustainable financial progress worldwide.
“The worldwide shift to renewables is more and more inevitable, however its huge human and financial advantages will not be but being shared throughout all nations and areas,” stated UN Local weather Change Govt Secretary Simon Stiell.
Stiell stated to ship on the worldwide settlement at COP28 to triple renewables by 2030, nations want to maneuver a lot additional and quicker, and make extra progress on the important thing enablers for susceptible growing nations.
“The investments required pays large dividends, reducing emissions, driving financial progress, creatin jobs, and supporting reasonably priced, safe vitality for all,” Stiell stated.
Because the custodian Company for monitoring the worldwide aim to triple put in renewable capability by 2030, IRENA stays dedicated to reviewing progress and figuring out gaps in the direction of the goal on an annual foundation.
Though the 582 GW (gigawatt, a unit of energy equal to 1 billion watts) of renewable capability added in 2024 represented a file annual enhance, it nonetheless falls in need of the tempo required to succeed in the worldwide tripling goal of 11.2 TW by 2030.
If the identical annual progress charge continues, the world will solely attain 10.3 TW of renewables capability, lacking the goal by 0.9 TW. Attaining the goal by 2030 would require renewable capability to develop even quicker at 16.6% yearly in lower than the remaining 5 years.
The renewables capability development additionally reveals the dominance of photo voltaic and wind energy. Each have collectively accounted for 97.5 p.c of all internet renewables additions in 2024, with photo voltaic growing by 453 GW. This proves the financial competitiveness of photo voltaic vitality; offering enterprise alternatives and vitality safety rapidly and sustainably.
Wind vitality is following behind with 114 GW of complete renewables capability addition. With renewables now catching up with fossil fuels within the share of put in capability (46.2 p.c of renewables vs 47.3 p.c of fossil fuels), the case of renewables being a sensible funding that creates jobs and drives sustainable progress has turn out to be stronger.
The report additionally reveals the continual progress of renewable energy technology, pushed by photo voltaic and wind vitality. Renewable electrical energy grew by 5.6 p.c in 2023 in comparison with 2022, reaching 8 928 terawatts hour.
In the meantime, non-renewable energy grew by just one.2 p.c in 2023 in comparison with 2022. As such, renewable vitality sources accounted for nearly 30% of world electrical energy technology by 2023.
