Countries need to fast track permitting processes for renewable projects and build more transmission infrastructure to meet the goal of tripling global renewable capacity by 2030, leaders said at the Global Renewables summit today.
At the UN's Cop 28 climate summit in Dubai last year, countries agreed to take action to triple global renewable energy capacity from 2022 levels by 2030 and to double energy efficiency. Almost a year later, there are major barriers that are impeding investment needed to boost a faster expansion of renewables.
"We must double down on implementation," European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said at the event in New York, New York.
Permitting has become a major barrier for developers to build their renewable and transmissions projects within the timeframes originally set, leading to delays and rising costs. This is turn creates uncertainty for investors interested in providing funds for the development of projects and expecting returns, speakers said.
Countries' nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to reduce greenhouse emissions not only need to show their renewable capacity targets but also their electricity grid goals that allow the flow of renewable electricity and accelerate the growth of renewable capacity, Cop 28's president Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said.
Sorting out these bottlenecks with the proper regulations and policies will create certainty for investors and attract more project financing, leaders agreed.
This year's Cop 29 will focus on speeding the delivery of goals set at Cop 28 as well as expanding and adding new solutions for the integration of renewables. Cop 29 president-designate from Azerbaijan Mukhtar Babayev said that they hope countries back a pledge to increase global energy storage capacity to 1.5GW by 2030 and to add or refurbish more than 80mn km (49mn miles) of electricity grids by 2040.
