France: The world’s energy watchdog has urged ministers to “open their eyes” to the immediate need to develop new electricity grids to help countries hit climate goals.
Mr. Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), has warned that the entire global electricity grid needs to be upgraded by 2040 to hit climate targets and ensure reliable power supplies.
According to the IEA, global investment in energy needs to double to more than $600 billion a year by 2030 to hit national climate targets after “over a decade of stagnation at the global level.”
Demand for electricity is predicted to surge as a large number of consumers adopt eco-friendly alternatives, such as heat pumps and electric vehicles. Additionally, companies operating in high-pollution sectors, such as steel production, are focusing on electrification as a means to facilitate their decarbonisation efforts.
The IEA noted that renewable projects offering at least 3,000 gigawatts of power were waiting for connections to their national grids, five times as much as the solar and wind capacity added globally in 2022.
The agency warned that delays in the reforms would increase the reliance on gas, which can lead to carbon emissions, and put the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels “out of reach”.
The IEA further stated that governments needed to support the expansion of supply chains and extra training to upgrade grids, and planning systems needed to be improved.
It recommended better coordination between planners of grid upgrades and renewable projects, improved processes to engage with the public on planning, and the increased use of digital tools.
In September, Mr. Birol warned that countries and companies planning to expand their fossil fuel production were taking “very unhealthy and unwise economic risks as their investments may not be profitable.”
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