11 February 2026 5:22 am
World fails first review of COP renewable energy goal

World fails first review of COP renewable energy goal

Oct 15, 2024

The World fails the first review of COP Renewable Energy Goal.  It is the stark warning the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) delivered Friday at the final ministerial meeting ahead of next month’s summit in Azerbaijan, known as COP29.

.

Image: Financing for climate action is set to be the focus at next month’s COP29 conference. | Tofik Babayev/AFP via Getty Images

*

World fails first review of COP renewable energy goal

A dramatic spending surge is needed to course correct, the International Renewable Energy Agency warned.

.

Politico article by Zia Weise
14 October 2024
.

BRUSSELS — Reaching the landmark renewable energy targets agreed at last year’s global climate summit will remain a distant dream unless the world invests more than $30 trillion over the next six years.

That’s the stark warning the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) delivered Friday at the final ministerial meeting ahead of next month’s United Nations climate summit in Azerbaijan, known as COP29, where financing for climate action will take center stage.

At last year’s COP28 conference in Dubai, countries pledged to collectively triple the world’s renewable energy capacity and double energy-saving efforts by 2030. The commitments were hailed as key to limiting global warming in line with the Paris Agreement.

Stronger policies, easier permitting and modernizing power grids are crucial to making up for the shortfall — as is a dramatic surge in investment, according to IRENA.

Investment in renewables reached a record high of $570 billion last year, but what’s needed is $1.5 trillion a year, IRENA says. And spending on energy-saving measures must increase seven-fold to reach the doubling target, from $323 million last year to $2.2 trillion annually.

In total, reaching the twin COP28 targets requires a cumulative global investment of $31.5 trillion in renewables, grids, energy efficiency and related measures by 2030, according to IRENA.

The findings are likely to bolster developing countries’ push for a massive increase in financial support. IRENA’s assessment comes just one month before the start of COP29, where countries are meant to agree on a new collective financial target to fund climate action — crucially, switching from fossil fuels to renewables — in developing countries.

Some proposals to replace the current target of $100 billion a year reach up to $1.3 trillion. But developed countries and the European Union argue that any significant increase in public finance requires emerging economies like China to start chipping in, and that the majority of investments must come from the private sector, not national budgets.

The vast majority of investment in renewables last year — 84 percent — was channeled into the EU, China and the United States. India and Brazil accounted for around 6 percent; investments in Africa are minuscule and actually halved between 2022 and 2023.

IRENA’s progress assessment finds the world falling short on almost every measure, aside from solar power.

IRENA’s progress assessment finds the world falling short on almost every measure, aside from solar power. | Giovanni Grezzi/AFP via Getty Images

To reach the COP28 tripling target, installed renewables capacity would have to increase from 3.9 terawatts (TW) today to 11.2 TW by the end of the decade, the agency says. But current national targets are projected to add only another 3.5 TW to reach 7.4 TW by 2030.

Countries’ plans submitted to the U.N. under the Paris Agreement — known as nationally determined contributions, or NDCs — suggest even weaker growth, reaching only 5.4 TW by 2030. Governments are required to submit updated NDCs next year; IRENA says that the new set of plans must “more than double” their renewables targets.

Solar is the only renewable technology growing at the required level. Onshore wind needs to triple, while offshore wind and bioenergy should increase six-fold. Geothermal capacity ought to grow 35 times faster than it did last year to meet its projected share.

On energy efficiency, “little meaningful progress has been made” over the past year, IRENA says. Some key measures to save energy include renovating old buildings and boosting electrification, as electric vehicles and heat pumps consume less energy than their fossil fuel counterparts.

Yet while EV sales reached a record 18 percent of total global car sales last year, the picture is dire for heat pumps, the agency warns: After a brief surge in 2022, their sales fell by 3 percent in 2023, with a particularly notable decline in Europe.

*

*

Modular renewables can reduce the costs of relying on carbon capture

Modular renewables can reduce the costs of relying on carbon capture

Oct 11, 2024

Modular renewables can reduce the costs of relying on carbon capture. How can this be done? Here is Dr Daniel Quiggin’s explanation. Also, according to Wood Mackenzie analysis, the impact of the delayed energy transition would result in the .

 

.

How modular renewables can reduce the costs of relying on carbon capture

COP29 must raise countries’ ambitions to deploy vastly more low-cost modular renewable technologies to help meet the tripling of renewables target set at COP28 and reduce our reliance on expensive carbon capture systems.

CHATHAM HOUSE Published ON 11 October 2024 

Dr Daniel Quiggin

Senior Research Fellow, Environment and Society Centre

 

The most important international climate conference is around the corner. COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan will be especially important because next year countries will submit their five-yearly national climate plans – or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – as set out under the Paris Agreement.

At COP28 in Dubai last year, the final text was heralded as a last-minute success as – somewhat surprisingly – it was the first ever COP to commit to ‘transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable manner’. To support this, over 200 countries also committed to triple renewable capacity by 2030.

Under current NDCs, even if all countries achieve their most ambitious decarbonization plans, the world would still fall 30 per cent short of tripling renewable capacity by 2030.

At COP29 in November, hosted by a petrostate, additional agreement is needed to operationalize the removal of fossil fuels from the global energy system and set the ambition for those crucial NDCs in 2025. Failing to do so means the opportunity to triple renewables by 2030 will slip away. But the actions of oil producing nations, international oil companies, their associated supply chains and networks of lobbyists have in recent years done their best to disrupt and slow down the energy transition and water down key negotiations during COPs and elsewhere.

During the final days of COP28, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) sent private letters to its 13 members – including COP28 host the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – urging them to ‘proactively reject any text or formula that targets energy, ie fossil fuels, rather than emissions’. OPEC members own 80 per cent of global oil reserves.

Due to the startling decline in the cost of renewables and electric vehicles, fossil fuel producers are increasingly concerned. To fight back they are turning to carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies and carbon removal options, which would enable the continued burning of fossil fuels – and protect their assets and business models.

To phase out or phase down? Why the debate on fossil fuels misses key point

A key battle ground for oil and gas producers is the difference between abated and unabated fossil fuels.

Abatement is the process of capturing CO2 as fossil fuels are burnt to prevent a proportion of those CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere, either by using that CO2 in products or storing it in geological formations deep underground in near perpetuity, commonly referred to as CCS.

After COP28 there was optimism that the final agreement was significant and covered all fossil fuels without ambiguity around whether they are unabated or abated.

But the definition of unabated has not actually been agreed within the COP process. During the 2021 COP26 summit, the Glasgow Climate Pact mentioned unabated in reference to coal. Could a gas power station capturing 51 per cent of the emitted CO2 be considered abated?

And what about the so-called downstream emissions? Downstream emissions from cars, planes, tanker ships and diesel generators etc make up 50–80 per cent of the total emissions from oil – and there are no plans to attach mini-CCS systems to cars.

CCS and engineered carbon removals are also likely to be expensive. Analysis by the Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment has shown that high CCS pathways to net zero emissions in 2050 would cost at least $30 trillion more than a low CCS pathway with more renewables – roughly $1 trillion more per year.

The rapid cost reductions of solar, wind and batteries are due to their modular nature.

The costs of CCS have also remained the same for the past 40 years, while the costs of renewables like solar, wind and lithium-ion batteries have dropped radically. Solar costs have declined by 90 per cent in the last decade.

The rapid cost reductions of solar, wind and batteries are due to their modular nature. Around 70 billion solar cells will be manufactured this year, the majority in China. It is the repetitive modular manufacturing process that has led to rapid efficiency improvements and cost reductions. Each Tesla has around 7,000 lithium-ion battery cells, and the price of these modular batteries fell 14 per cent between 2022 and 2023 alone.

The modular criteria can help define the technology winners of the future, technologies we should selectively support and accelerate over the coming years.

While huge industrial power stations, oil rigs and refineries have their benefits, they are not modular in the same way. Their economy of scale is in the large size of each asset. CCS is bolted on to fossil fuel infrastructure but there are less than 50,000 fossil fuel producing assets globally. By contrast, there were 1.5 billion solar panels produced in 2022. The cost of deploying CCS is therefore unlikely to benefit from the rapid cost reductions of modular renewables. Nuclear even less so. There are 440 nuclear power stations in operation today, they take many years to build and remain hugely expensive.

In the context of high debt-to-GDP levels across many countries and military spending on the rise in a conflict-focused world, the risk is that the costs of CCS and engineered carbon removals increasingly become incommensurate with today’s focus on energy security and affordability.

To have any chance of avoiding climate change catastrophe, we have to prioritize the quickest way to mitigate the largest emissions.

Modular renewable technologies can be deployed faster to reduce our reliance on expensive CCS and carbon removal technologies. There are also other modular renewable technologies, such as heat pumps and electrolysers, that are already starting to disrupt parts of the energy system but require additional government help to speed their modular journey along.

To have any chance of avoiding climate change catastrophe, we have to prioritize the quickest way to mitigate the largest emissions. At COP29, a priority must be to increase the ambition of countries to accelerate low-cost modular renewables within their 2025 NDCs. This will not only help meet the COP28 target of tripling renewables by 2030 but will also help reduce the future costs of relying on expensive CCS and carbon removal technologies.

*

*

Egypt’s Blue Tricycle Was Transformed Into a Community Care Car

Egypt’s Blue Tricycle Was Transformed Into a Community Care Car

Oct 2, 2024

Cairo Scene’s article, which is highly relevant to the local and prevailing atmosphere, deals with how Egypt’s blue tricycle became a community care car. For some time, the alternative transport market in Egypt has been the nest for many improvements that are not like this one.  Let us see how.

.

How Egypt’s Blue Tricycle Was Transformed Into a Community Care Car

Egyptian architects from CLUSTER—Cairo Lab for Urban Studies—designed & built a Community Care Vehicle for Ard El Lewa.

By Rana Gabr

On  Sep 30, 2024
How Egypt’s Blue Tricycle Was Transformed Into a Community Care Car

In the heart of Ard El Lewa, one of Cairo’s densely populated, deemed “informal” areas, an intriguing initiative has emerged: a tricycle transformed into a mini ambulance. This innovative contraption was created by a group of Egyptian architects from CLUSTER—Cairo Lab for Urban Studies—dedicated to finding alternative ways to engage with our cities.

“Our practice doesn’t follow traditional architectural design. We take pride in being designers who prioritise creativity and socially responsible ideas.” architect and urban planner Omar Nagati, Principal and co-founder of CLUSTER told CairoScene.

Transcending the perceived conventional role of architects, CLUSTER has nurtured its path to improve the quality of our cities’ built environment by making urban spaces more inclusive and just. Founded by the Egyptian architect and urban planner Omar Nagati in 2011, they’ve adopted a clear methodology of action research and in-depth mapping to enable themselves to propose ideas and generate alternative unorthodox modes of urban development.

If you want to actively engage in the city you need to find a place for yourself within the ecosystem, open doors for ideas” architect and urban planner Omar Nagati, Principal and co-founder of CLUSTER told CairoScene.

How Egypt’s Blue Tricycle Was Transformed Into a Community Care Car

In a path where design and creativity converge, the CLUSTER team headed by architects Omar Khaled and Hanaa Gad collaborated with AP+E Netherlands-based architectural office and the Dutch Studio René Boer under the support of Creative Industries Fund to bring their latest project: Community Care Vehicle to being.

“This project builds on our long-term interest and concern with regards to what we call ‘self-built’ environment or  ‘informal’ areas, promoting a sustainable urban environment and a more diverse and accessible public space.”  Omar Nagati explained.

Taking notice of the tricycle as an omnipresent vehicle or transportation mode, these iconic blue vehicles,  now seen on every corner of our Cairene street and all over Egypt, have diversified in their uses due to their compact size, allowing them to easily navigate our narrow streets. Already employed for transportation, trash collection, and merchandise transport, the question becomes why not readapt them for more critical urgent needs or missing services.

This seemingly minor observation sparked the driving force behind CLUSTER’s initiative. After thorough research, and analysis of both the site and the tricycleycle’s tricycle’s various adaptations, a clear vision emerged with two potential options: either an emergency fire vehicle or a Community Care Vehicle.

The support of volunteer students from the German University in Cairo and a student from Cambridge University, added another facet of civic engagement to the initiative.

The team opted to craft a life-size wooden model of the design, using their local creative and maker space lab ALFABRIKA in Ard El Lewa, while keeping the final choice of vehicle use open for now. This action was further enriched by an extra facet of civic engagement, with the support of volunteering students from the German University in Cairo and a student from Cambridge University.

ALFABRIKA Creative Lab was established in 2019 with the aim of facilitating an exchange of knowledge between formally trained design/art students with local craftspeople/manufacturers as an extension of CLUSTER’s interests in creative industries.

Using their signature communal engagement and participatory approach, CLUSTER organised a meeting with the local community of Ard El Lewa. From community leaders to curious children and families, everyone joined forces to explore the dynamic model. Together, they debated: would their needs call for a ‘mini-ambulance’ or an emergency fire vehicle?

Ultimately, the voices of the community determined the choice of the Community Care Vehicle, aka  “Rescue on Wheels”, mainly for its versatility. “Rescue on Wheels” will not only transport the sick or unwell; it is designed to carry individuals in wheelchairs and serve as a vital tool for spreading awareness about health issues and supporting vaccination campaigns.

According to CLUSTER, this is a new venture where their creative interdisciplinary approach has taken them into unfamiliar uncharted ‘more auto mechanical’ territories. Employing all sorts of available local knowledge to build this moving machine, is one of the key aspects and challenges of this project.

How Egypt’s Blue Tricycle Was Transformed Into a Community Care Car

“The local market holds all the knowledge; we just need to piece it together. Everyone contributed their part, and while some were sceptical, they pushed through anyway. Sometimes, you have to push the boundaries a bit to achieve what truly matters.”

The team sought technical expertise from various fields to meet ambulance standards. They needed to accommodate a stretcher, two seats for a paramedic and companion, and two oxygen tubes, which required expanding the tricycle and shifting its centre of gravity. They consulted automotive engineering professors from Ain Shams University and collaborated with Al-Tahan, a company that typically manufactures fridge cabinets, to create an insulated cabinet for the vehicle, which now adds an “ambulance” cabinet to their portfolio.

All the internal furniture was cleverly designed to fold away, making room for various uses. The entire cabinet was elevated to house a sliding ramp underneath, allowing a wheelchair to roll smoothly inside. To ensure safety, extra metal studs were added to the ramp—an idea inspired by local, hands-on solutions—to prevent any accidental rollbacks onto the street.

“Rescue on Wheels” showcases a striking white and red visual identity that subtly reflects its site and function. With an overarching theme of three—drawing inspiration from the tricycle’s three wheels—it features three circular windows on each side, reminiscent of traditional architectural styles. When opened, these windows subtly resemble a crescent, evocative of the Egyptian red crescent.

“The design was not an afterthought; it was crafted to establish a visual identity that resonates deeply, offering a true sense of pride and dignity to the community of Ard El Lewa.” Omar Khaled, CLUSTER team lead designer explained.

The cabinet ventilation system primarily relies on eight windows and a hood installed at the back of the driver. While this is sufficient for the current ‘Beta Version,’ an AC system may be considered in the future. For now, it was intentionally avoided, along with any electrical appliances, to prevent interference with the tricycle’s motor.

At the moment, “Rescue on Wheels” has only been launched locally in Ard El Lewa and is navigating its way through the complex web of city regulations. Set to be showcased at the upcoming World Urban Forum from November 4th to 8th, 2024, this project highlights the true potential of architecture when it collaborates with society, fostering live dialogue, research, and the integration of diverse possibilities.

Photography Credit: CLUSTER

*

*

 

 

Renewable energy, fossil fuel goals within reach, but huge push needed

Renewable energy, fossil fuel goals within reach, but huge push needed

Sep 25, 2024

According to a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), all nations can achieve the ambitious goals of COP28 and triple clean energy capacity by the end of the decade if they clear regulatory bottlenecks and modernize the grid. So, Renewable energy and fossil fuel goals are within reach, but a huge push is needed.  This seems to be an improvement from .

.

Renewable energy, fossil fuel goals within reach, but huge push needed: IEA

by Zack Budryk

Featured image: Contractors install solar panels at the Phillips 66 Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex in Rodeo, California, US, on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Phillips 66’s San Francisco refinery, which for years manufactured products like gasoline and jet fuel, is now producing only renewable fuels and is partially powered by solar energy. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Nations can achieve the ambitious goals of the COP28 climate conference and triple clean energy capacity by the end of the decade if they clear regulatory bottlenecks and modernize the grid, according to a report published Tuesday by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

In the report, the IEA said the 200 nations that participated in the Dubai summit could achieve its commitments, which include net zero emissions by 2030 as well as tripling renewables. It attributed this to a variety of factors, including government policies creating incentives.

However, it added, the added capacity alone will not automatically cut consumer costs or reduce fossil fuel emissions. To take full advantage, participating nations must modernize the equivalent of about 15.5 million miles of grid and multiply current battery storage by 15 for a total of 12 gigawatts, according to the report.

In the report, the IEA calls for a country-by-country approach to these goals, rather than seeking to apply a one-size-fits-all strategy to different countries that may be at varying stages in the process.

For example, if countries that still use predominantly traditional cookstoves rather than those using renewable energy for cooking were to transition over, it could save energy equivalent to the annual demand of Brazil.

In wealthier economies, meanwhile, electricity use creates the greatest opportunity for efficiency improvements. In those cases, the authors wrote, increased use of electric vehicles and heat pumps will be a major driver for those improvements.

“As this new IEA report shows, the COP28 energy goals should lay the foundation for countries’ new climate targets under the Paris Agreement – they are the North Star for what the energy sector needs to do,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said. “And further international cooperation is vital to deliver fit-for-purpose grids, sufficient energy storage and faster electrification, which are integral to move clean energy transitions quickly and securely.”

*
*
40% of Global Energy Generated by Renewables in 2023

40% of Global Energy Generated by Renewables in 2023

Aug 31, 2024

Asia Financial Energy reports that 40% of Global Energy will be Generated by Renewables in 2023.

According to EcoWatch, for the first time last year, more than 40% of the world’s electricity was generated by zero-carbon sources.

According to two new reports from BloombergNEF (BNEF), the global clean energy transition has reached significant milestones and is poised to continue at its current pace. Last year, for the first time, more than 40 percent of the planet’s electricity was generated by zero-carbon sources — 14 percent from solar and wind.

The image above is of a solar farm surrounding the decommissioned Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station near Sacramento, California, on May 25, 2023. JasonDoiy / E+ / Getty Images

40% of Global Energy Generated by Renewables in 2023

August 30, 2024

The rapid transition to renewable energy sources, notably solar power, continued in 2023 and the first half of 2024, new reports say

Governments need to be more proactive and must invest, and use tax and regulatory levers to speed up the transition to clean energy, leading economists say.
Some 428 gigawatts of solar power was added around the world in 2023, top monitors say. This image shows workers installing a solar panel in Jiuquan, Gansu province (Reuters).

 

 

The US online environmental news outlet said the transition to ‘clean’ renewable sources was continuing, with close to 14% of global energy coming from wind and solar power production.

Hydropower generated 14.7%, with solar and wind creating 13.9% and nuclear  9.4% of electricity in 2023, it said, citing two new reports by BloombergNEF (BNEF), which said some 91% of new capacity added last year came from solar and wind, while just 6% came from new fossil fuel sources.

Ecowatch said total global power-generating capacity reached 8.9 terawatts in 2023, according to BNEF‘s ‘Power Transition Trends.’

Wind power now generates about 1 terawatt of capacity. But solar capacity had surged by 428 gigawatts, up a remarkable 76% year-on-year, to bring global solar capacity to 1.6 terawatts.

The worldwide transition to renewables continued in the first half of this year with $313 billion of new investment, which it said was similar to 2023.

China was by far the biggest investor again, followed by the US, plus Brazil, Canada and India. One surprise was Pakistan jumping this year from 14th largest investor in new solar projects to the fifth largest.

China to continue shift to low-carbon power

Meanwhile, Chinese officials say the country will keep phasing out fossil fuels and reforming its electricity system.

The energy regulator issued a white paper, that was long on accomplishments but short on new plans for China’s energy transition.

National Energy Administration head Zhang Jianhua said China would continue its power system reforms by expanding the spot market, promoting green electricity trading and replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. He also called for market-oriented reforms.

Speaking at a press conference held by the State Council (the national cabinet), Zhang said China invested $676 billion in its energy transition last year, citing a figure from research organisation BloombergNEF, which estimated China’s energy transition investment made up 38% of the global total.

The country has emerged as a global leader in the transition to renewable energy, but its power system still relies significantly on coal.

Asked whether China’s carbon emissions could peak before its 2030 target, as many experts say it is on track to do, agency planning department deputy director Song Wen said: “The dual carbon target will not be changed and the major targets we have committed to will not be moved.”

China had targeted installing 1,200 gigawatts of wind and solar power by 2030, but soaring renewable installations helped it meet that goal in July, six years early.

Asked whether China could set an even more ambitious renewables goal for 2030, new-energy department director Li Changjun said only that China would put forward new goals and measures based on its national conditions.

Analysts say China is lagging behind on some other goals, including one to reduce its carbon intensity – CO2 emissions per unit of economic output – by 18% over the five years to 2030. It would need to cut absolute emissions by 7% annually this year and in 2025 to meet it, according to an analysis by the non-profit organisation Carbon Brief.

The white paper laid out a raft of previously announced measures, from advancing energy storage technology to promoting energy conservation.

 

  • Jim Pollard with Reuters

 

NOTE: The text of this report was amended on August 30, 2024 to include details of China’s energy reforms.

.

More in Insights and AF TV

.

.