By Adnan Z. Amin, Director-General, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
Limiting the global temperature rise to well below 2°C this century is one of the defining challenges of our age. Two thirds of greenhouse gas emissions come from energy-related sources. This makes the transition to sustainable energy the decisive factor in tackling climate change.
Renewable energy, together with energy efficiency, form the cornerstone of the world’s mitigation strategy. They represent a safe, reliable, affordable and immediately deployable pathway to a low-carbon future that can achieve over 90 per cent of the energy-related CO2 emission reductions needed to meet climate goals. Avoiding the worst effects of global warming will require us to source at least 85 per cent of global power from renewables, with a minimum of two thirds of total energy from renewable sources – wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, bioenergy and the burgeoning tidal technology – by 2050. This means that we must utilise the solutions available to stimulate systemic transformation towards a digitalised, decentralised and decarbonised energy paradigm.
