Getty ImagesPlanned investment in clean energy must increase by 30% to a total of $131 trillion by 2050 to avert catastrophic climate change, with the need to massively scale up hydrogen production particularly acute, according to a study published on Tuesday.
In its annual flagship report, the International Renewable Energy Agency underscored the scale and pace of change needed to cap the rise in average global temperatures at 1.5 degrees Celsius, in line with the 2015 Paris climate accord.
"The gap between where we are and where we should be is not decreasing but widening," said Francesco La Camera, director-general of the Abu Dhabi-based organisation, which has more than 160 member states. "We need a drastic acceleration of energy transitions to make a meaningful turnaround."
The agency's "1.5C pathway" set out in the report found that fossil fuel consumption would have to fall by more than 75% by 2050, with oil and coal shrinking more quickly.
Use of natural gas would have to peak in 2025, although it would be the dominant fossil fuel by mid-century.
Renewable power capacity will have to expand more than ten-fold by mid-century, accompanied by a 30-fold increase in the electrification of transport, the report found.
It also foresaw a dramatic increase in the production and use of "green hydrogen" - a zero-carbon fuel made by electrolysis, using power from wind and solar, that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen.
By 2050, 30% of electricity use will be dedicated to producing green hydrogen and hydrogen and its derivatives, such as e-ammonia and e-methanol, the report said.
To produce this, global electrolyser capacity will need to expand to almost 5,000 Gigawatts from 0.3 GW today.
The report said governments could still harness post-pandemic recovery packages, which have so far mostly favoured fossil fuels, to accelerate the transition.
In its annual flagship report, the International Renewable Energy Agency underscored the scale and pace of change needed to cap the rise in average global temperatures at 1.5 degrees Celsius, in line with the 2015 Paris climate accord.
"The gap between where we are and where we should be is not decreasing but widening," said Francesco La Camera, director-general of the Abu Dhabi-based organisation, which has more than 160 member states. "We need a drastic acceleration of energy transitions to make a meaningful turnaround."
The agency's "1.5C pathway" set out in the report found that fossil fuel consumption would have to fall by more than 75% by 2050, with oil and coal shrinking more quickly.
Use of natural gas would have to peak in 2025, although it would be the dominant fossil fuel by mid-century.
Renewable power capacity will have to expand more than ten-fold by mid-century, accompanied by a 30-fold increase in the electrification of transport, the report found.
It also foresaw a dramatic increase in the production and use of "green hydrogen" - a zero-carbon fuel made by electrolysis, using power from wind and solar, that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen.
By 2050, 30% of electricity use will be dedicated to producing green hydrogen and hydrogen and its derivatives, such as e-ammonia and e-methanol, the report said.
To produce this, global electrolyser capacity will need to expand to almost 5,000 Gigawatts from 0.3 GW today.
The report said governments could still harness post-pandemic recovery packages, which have so far mostly favoured fossil fuels, to accelerate the transition.
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1 Comment on this Story
 | Jayeshkumar Panchal1 hour ago Economy that is Obsessed on `Energy for Automobiles', can not solve the Climate Crisis. . . . Our Automobiles made a Huge Energy Mistake right from their creation more than a century and half ago, of not recovering their Kinetic Energy while braking and using that same Energy for powering their next Acceleration, and instead wasting away all that Kinetic Energy as Heat in those Friction Brakes and then stupidly using a lot of New Energy, Engine Power and Fuel for their Next Acceleration. This Simple Energy Mistake has unfortunately remained till date in all our Automobiles even after a Century of Motoring and many Oil Crisis and Wars, as well as this huge Air Pollution, Climate change and Global Warming; but is sadly being repeated even in those Electric, Hybrid and Hydrogen vehicles, with even the Latest of these Green Cars still using those Energy Wasting Friction Brakes!, ..that too on all 4 wheels!. . . . There can be No Place for those Energy wasting Friction Brakes in our Automobiles in 21st Century (after nearly 400 years of knowing the Laws of Motion), whatever may be the Fuel or Energy Source in our Automobiles - Petrol, Diesel, CNG, LNG, Hydrogen or Electric. . . . Never say how much you are ready to Spend on the Cab, if you want to reach the destination at the Earliest (oops.) |