We launched the 3xRenewables by 2030 campaign on the 18th of September 2023. This high-level event was a visible set-piece moment to kickstart New York Climate Week and the High-Level Week of the UN General Assembly, bringing together the private sector, civil society and climate diplomats to issue a unified call to world leaders to commit to a target at COP28 to triple global renewable energy capacity to at least 11,000 GW by 2030.
The campaign and its open letter signed by over 300 organisations played a key role in securing the global target and continues to build momentum for 3xRenewables.
Representing global perspectives within the renewable energy and climate change space, this report by the COP28 Presidency, IRENA and the Global Renewables Alliance provides recommendations on the means to triple renewable power generation capacity and double the energy efficiency improvement rate by 2030.
We, a global group of 300+ organisations, emphatically call for world leaders and Parties to the Paris Agreement to agree on a global target to triple renewable electricity capacity to at least 11,000 GW by 2030 at COP28 this year.
We underscore that a step change this decade in renewable energy growth, combined with an increase in energy efficiency, will be the fastest and most cost efficient way to decarbonise the global economy. It is one of the most impactful commitments that the global community can undertake now to secure a liveable future for all.
A global target to 2030 sends a clear signal to governments, industry, investors and civil society on the unprecedented scale and speed of renewables deployment required over the next seven years to limit global warming to a 1.5°C pathway. It also builds upon the recognition of the urgency to rapidly transform energy systems in this critical decade of action, secured at COP27 last year.
The COP28 Presidency, policymakers and heads of international energy agencies are already convening around a shared target to triple global renewable electricity capacity to at least 11,000 GW by 2030. That means accelerating build-out of wind power, solar power, hydropower and geothermal power, which would set the stage for technologies like long-duration storage and green hydrogen to take off. This would ensure energy systems are not only clean, but secure and just, and in turn, form the foundation of a net zero global energy system by 2050.
Renewable energy is already transforming communities around the world: powering homes, cars and factories with clean electricity; generating millions of green jobs; and attracting public and private capital to propel economic growth. Tripling this activity represents an enormous opportunity to reduce the loss and damage for nature and people wrought by harmful climate change, and set the world on a path to sustainable, inclusive and climate-resilient growth.
While each country and region will adopt a nationally determined approach to this common target, there are universal enablers for accelerating renewable energy. The renewables industry, investors and other key stakeholders stand ready to work together with governments to scale up deployment, however, urgent action in the following areas is needed to implement this global target.
We recognise that tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030 represents a “quantum leap in climate action.”
It requires governments to work together with industry and the finance community on fast-tracking policy and regulation to expand project pipelines, usher in new waves of investment to the energy sector and build infrastructure, including transmission lines and supply chain hubs. It requires international solidarity to ensure financial and technical resources are mobilised to support developing economies in the global energy transition. Finally, it requires a holistic approach to energy system transformation, including doubling progress on energy efficiency by 2030 and undertaking wide-scale electrification.
Last year, power sector emissions reached an all-time high and the UN assessed that no country is currently on a credible pathway to 1.5°C. It is clear that we need a profound course-correction of the energy system in this decade, and time is running out.
We urge world leaders and Parties to the Paris Agreement to make a firm commitment to tripling renewable electricity capacity to at least 11,000 GW by 2030 at COP28 this year. We are ready to work side-by-side with governments, industry, investors and civil society to collectively take actions, move faster and scale up renewables now.
The first milestone of the ‘Double Down, Triple Up’ campaign was reached at COP28 when world leaders agreed to triple global renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030.
It’s Time 4 Action. In the second phase of the campaign we call on governments and policymakers to deliver on their commitment.
