2024 – a Year of Records for Renewables, Yet Progress Falls Short to 3xRenewables by 2030

2024 marks a pivotal moment in the global energy transition as renewable energy surges to unprecedented heights.

Yet, despite the remarkable progress, the pace of change remains insufficient to meet the ambitious goal of tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030 – a critical milestone for keeping global temperature rise below 1.5^°C.

This story showcases the 2024 highlights and what has been achieved to date, outlining the immense work still required to fully realise the renewable energy revolution by the end of the decade.

2023 set a new record in renewable energy deployment in the power sector by reaching a total capacity of 3 865 Gigawatts (GW) globally.

Renewables accounted for 86% of capacity additions. The 473 GW of renewables expansion was led once again by Asia with a 69% share.

Yet, progress falls short to triple renewables by 2030. A minimum 16.2% growth per annum is necessary to reach the tripling target by 2030.

Read more in the Renewable capacity statistics 2024

2023 saw the highest ever increase in renewable energy jobs, from 13.7 million in 2022 to 16.2 million. The 18% year-on-year leap reflects the strong growth of renewables generating capacities, together with a continued expansion of equipment manufacturing.

Under the 1.5^°C scenario, the renewable energy jobs are expected to grow to 30 million by 2030.

Read more in the Renewable energy and jobs: Annual review 2024

The world invested a record high USD 570 billion in renewable energy in 2023. The investment, however, is not equitable with emerging and developing economies facing financing gaps and declines.

The annual investment in renewable capacity would have to triple, from USD 570 billion in 2023 to USD 1.5 trillion every year between 2024 and 2030 to achieve the tripling renewable power capacity target.

Read more in the World Energy Transitions Outlook 2024

Of the record 473 gigawatts (GW) added in 2023, 81% or 382 GW of newly commissioned, utility-scale renewable projects had lower costs than their fossil fuel-fired alternatives.

This offers countries a compelling business and investment case to triple renewables by 2030. Renewable power generation has become the default source of least-cost new power generation.

Read more in the Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2023

Tripling renewable power capacity by 2030 will require power systems to accommodate much higher shares of variable renewable energy. This requires modernised, expanded grids and energy storage infrastructure.

Storage project costs have dropped by 89% between 2010 and 2023, facilitating the integration of high shares of solar and wind capacity by helping address grid infrastructure challenges.

Read more in the Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2023

Renewable electricity use in global consumption has grown from 26.3% in 2019 to 28.2% in 2020, the largest single-year increase since the start of tracking progress for the SDGs.

Yet, despite successes in renewable energy deployment globally in 2023, the world is not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 for energy by 2030. 675 million people still remain without electricity, and 2.3 billion people rely on harmful cooking fuels on everyday basis.

Read more in the Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report 2024

Digitalisation is a vital enabler of the energy transition, and its applications in power infrastructure play a key role in facilitating the tripling of power capacity by 2030.

Given the increased complexity of power system operations, digital solutions and AI applied to power infrastructure are essential for adapting systems to new and challenging conditions, driving efficiency and innovation.

Read more in the World Energy Transitions Outlook 2024

NDCs 3.0 due for submission in 2025 must reflect the global goal of tripling renewable power capacity by 2030 to stay on a pathway to limit global temperature rise to below 1.5^°C by 2050.

However, a significant gap remains between political announcements and actual county plans and policies. Current national plans and targets are set to deliver only half of the required growth in renewable power by 2030.

2024 saw the record-breaking achievements positively shaping the renewable energy landscape. Yet, the need for accelerated action to align global efforts with the Paris Agreement targets and Sustainable Development Goals has never been more urgent.

IRENA, as a custodian agency for tracking progress towards tripling renewable power by 2030 target, supports countries in their energy transition. The #3xRenewables campaign reiterates the commitment to the 2030 target as a promise of sustainable development and economic growth, a driver for empowerment and social equity and a catalyst for energy security and independence.

Read more and watch the campaign videos