Expanding and modernising grids to connect and transport renewables, and delivering the storage capacity to back up an increasingly intermittent, renewables-led system, will be key enablers of the pledge to treble renewables capacity by 2030 signed as part of the UAE Consensus at COP28. At COP29 in Baku, the Presidency is therefore seeking commitments from state and non-state actors to ambitious targets in the form of the Global Energy Storage and Grids Pledge. The pledge outlines a collective goal of deploying 1,500 GW of energy storage in the power sector globally, and enhancing grid capacity through a global grid deployment goal of adding or refurbishing 25 million kilometres of grids, by 2030.

Setting targets and securing commitments is vital, but it is only the first step. With fewer than 2,000 days remaining until 2030, we will need to move swiftly to implementation and it Is clear that deployment today is lagging far behind the pace needed to achieve these targets. This is where the Utilities for Net Zero Alliance – a coalition of 40+ progressive global utilities and supply chain partners committed to delivering the clean power transition – can play a vital role in identifying and addressing practical barriers to faster delivery, based on real experience on the ground. Its members have plans to invest more than $116bn per year in clean power generation and power system grid infrastructure globally in the coming years, with almost half of that investment earmarked for grids – but more must be done.

Building on the UNEZA’s publication of its high level statement on building a resilient and diverse clean energy technology supply chain at GRA’s Global Renewables Summit at New York Climate Action Week, this panel event at COP29 will explore the steps that must now be taken to unlock much faster investment into energy storage and grids, taking perspectives from leading global utilities at the forefront of these investments.