G20 meet’s climate action promise: Significant, but not enough

Source– The post is based on the article “G20 meet’s climate action promise: Significant, but not enough” published in “The Indian Express” on 13th September 2023.

Syllabus: GS2- Global groupings

Relevance- G20 and climate change

News– At the recent G20 summit, there was a commitment to work towards tripling global renewable energy capacity by 2030.

Why is this commitment a low hanging fruit?

According to the International Energy Agency, this single action has the potential to prevent the emission of 7 billion tons of carbon dioxide by the year 2030.

It is the easiest step for the G20 countries to address climate issues, even though some fossil fuel-producing nations like Russia and Saudi Arabia initially had reservations.

Renewable energy adoption is already happening rapidly worldwide. Annual capacity expansions are increasing by approximately 10% each year. There is no opposition to the adoption of renewable energy by developing countries.

As per IEA, tripling the renewable capacity by 2030 is an ambitious yet feasible aspiration. Annual capacity is growing at an average annual rate of about 11%. Slightly increasing this annual growth rate will meet the targeted 2030 capacity objective.

Why is tripling renewable energy capacities within a span of seven years a challenging objective?

Currently, the global installed capacity for renewable energy is just below 3,400 GW.

In 2022, there was an addition of approximately 295 GW of new capacity, marking the highest increase to date.

To achieve the goal of tripling the overall capacity by 2030, the world would need to incorporate nearly 1,000 GW of fresh capacity every year. This is the target advocated by organisations such as the IRENA, the IEA, climate activists.

What are critical components to achieve this objective?

There is a need for mobilisation of sufficient financial resources and the creation of opportunities. It includes infrastructure development, favourable policy environments, and skill enhancement in countries with limited energy access.

The majority of new capacity additions currently occur in only a few large developing countries. Over the past five years, India and China, collectively, have accounted for more than 50% of the global capacity additions.

Achieving the tripling target is contingent on rapid demand growth in other developing nations, particularly in Africa.

According to an assessment by IRENA, an annual investment of approximately $5.3 trillion would be necessary until 2050 to facilitate the energy transition required to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

How can the International Solar Alliance play a pivotal role in  tripling global renewable energy capacity by 2030?

Solar energy consistently constitutes over 50% of new renewable energy capacity additions each year. It is central to the expansion of renewable energy sources.

In 2022, out of the 295 GW of new renewable capacity added, 191 GW came from solar energy.

The ISA was specifically established to accelerate the deployment of solar energy worldwide.

The International Solar Alliance has collaborated with the G20 Presidency to expedite development in G-20 countries and address climate change through the promotion of solar energy utilisation.

ISA has launched the Green Hydrogen Innovation Centre to enhance the knowledge and capabilities of all nations in producing, transporting, and utilising low and zero-carbon hydrogen.

ISA is offering guarantees to its member countries in Africa to incentivize private sector investments in solar mini-grids.

ISA is cultivating entrepreneurs in countries that can become the leading suppliers of solar energy across countries and regions. It has recently identified and is strengthening 20 solar startups in Africa.

Why is the recent G20 summit criticised for insufficient attention to the issue of climate change?

Goal of tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030 alone would not be sufficient to meet the 1.5-degree Celsius temperature goal.

Current projections indicate that greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 would exceed the levels compatible with a 1.5-degree Celsius rise by approximately 24 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

Tripling renewable energy would only help avoid about 7 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent, which is less than one-third of what is actually required.

The G20 meeting avoided addressing most of the contentious issues, such as more substantial emissions reductions, the phasing out of fossil fuels, and the substantial mobilisation of financial resources.