The MENA region can accelerate its renewable energy production, explaining that despite a growing commitment to climate action through net-zero targets, the MENA region still lags behind its global peers in this field, according to analysis for the World Economic Forum.
This is how the MENA region can accelerate its renewable energy production
25 April 2024
The MENA region still lags behind its global peers in terms of renewable energy capacity. Image: REUTERS/Mike Hutchings
By Liam Coleman, Senior Writer, Formative Content
- COP28 saw 125 countries across the world commit to tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030.
- Growth in wind and solar capacity can make the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region a clean energy and green hydrogen hub.
- But MENA currently lags behind its global peers in this field, according to a World Economic Forum report.
In the heart of the Middle East in late 2023, several major climate pledges were made at COP28. As well as commitments around energy efficiency and transitioning away from fossil fuels, 125 countries signed a pledge to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030.
The pledge said this would align with research by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) on how to limit global warming to 1.5C, as well as “create new jobs, enhance lives and livelihoods, and empower people, communities, and societies”.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region that hosted COP27 and COP28 has historically been associated with its natural reserves of oil. However, it is also a region that has a huge amount of natural resources that can be harnessed for renewables.
To that end, countries in the MENA region will add 62GW of renewable energy capacity over the next five years, according to the IEA, in their attempt to meet the pledge made at COP28. The pace of growth is also expected to accelerate to more than three times the previous five-year period, with solar capacity making up over 85% of the increase.
Seven countries in MENA account for 90% of the region’s renewable energy growth.Image: IEA
Saudi Arabia will account for over a third of this growth, with significant contributions also expected by the UAE, Morocco, Oman, Egypt, Israel and Jordan. These seven countries are expected to account for over 90% of the region’s growth in renewables capacity, the IEA research adds.
However, despite a growing commitment to climate action through net-zero targets, the MENA region still lags behind its global peers in this field, according to analysis for the World Economic Forum.
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