Renewable energy is now the cheapest option, on average, for new electricity capacity around the world — in developed countries like the US as well as developing countries like India, China, Nigeria, and Mexico. As I noted the other day, we need to keep channeling this message to the broader public, and especially decision-makers, but there are other things to do as well in order to increase the rate of renewable energy growth.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has projected that we need to double renewables globally by 2030 (combined with solid progress on energy efficiency) if we are going to keep global warming below 2°C. Clearly, direct governmental investment into renewable energy programs is one great way to do that. As one such example of strong policy action, China just announced that it plans to invest $360 billion into renewables by 2034 and has stopped construction or planning on over 100 coal plants. That’s vision and leadership.
From Abu Dhabi itself, home of IRENA and my home base this past week, the UAE announced a strategy of 70% decarbonization in the electricity sector by 2050, targeting 44% renewables, 6% nuclear, 38% natural gas, and 12% “clean fossil” by that time. The UAE also just started removing fuel and water subsidies, allowing electricity prices to jump and water prices to triple.
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