COP30: IRENA says renewable targets must rise by 60%
BELÉM, Brazil – The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) warned during COP30 Wednesday that global country-specific targets (NDCs) for renewable energy must collectively increase by more than 60% to meet the global goal of 11.2 terawatts (TW) of renewable power capacity.
In the statement “Powering COP30: NDC 3.0 and the Race to Meet the Goal of Tripling Renewables by 2030,” IRENA reported that the latest NDCs collectively target 6.9 TW of renewable capacity by 2030, up from 4.4 TW in 2024 but still well short of the 11.2 TW benchmark established under the UAE Consensus, a landmark agreement adopted at COP28 in Dubai during December 2023.
To date, only 72 countries have submitted their third-round NDCs (NDC 3.0). These nations account for two-thirds of global emissions and about 3.4 TW of renewable capacity in 2024.
Collectively, they have committed to adding nearly 2 TW of renewable power by 2030, compared with 820 GW under the previous NDC 2.0 round, with China and the European Union representing the largest share of this new capacity.
However, the shortfall is most pronounced in developing countries and small island states, whose NDC targets remain largely conditional on external finance.
IRENA called for fast-tracking investment in renewable energy, grid infrastructure, supply chains, and energy efficiency, while scaling up finance for just and inclusive energy transitions.
It said clean energy investment needs to rise from $624 billion/year in 2024 to at least $1.4 trillion every year between 2025 and 2030 to stay on track globally. With less than five years remaining to implement the extra capacity, urgent action and increased investment in renewable energy is crucial, according to IRENA.
“Renewable energy is no longer the future-option, it is the present reality,” said Francesco La Camera, IRENA director general. “As we gather in Belém for COP30, we must recognize that ambition alone won’t suffice. We need delivery at scale, globally and fast. NDC 3.0 offers a last-window opportunity this decade to steer the energy transition toward the 1.5 [degrees Celsius] guard-rail,” he said.
The 1.5 degrees Celsius target was the key goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit the increase in global average temperatures to well below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
NDCs are the backbone of national climate strategies. To date, solar photovoltaic (PV) energy already accounts for over 60% of new renewable capacity worldwide, according to IRENA 2024 data. Tripling total renewables by 2030 to 11.2 TW implies that solar photovoltaics alone must grow at least three- to four-fold, or around 6 to 7 TW of installed capacity globally by the end of the decade.
The 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP30, runs from Nov. 10 to Nov. 21 in Belem, Brazil.
–Reporting by Benita Anna Maria Dreesen, bdreesen@opisnet.com