This report outlines a pathway for the world to achieve the Paris Agreement goals and halt the pace of climate change by transforming the global energy landscape.

This outlook highlights climate-safe investment options until 2050, policies for transition and specific regional challenges. It also explores options to eventually cut emissions to zero.

Japan, holding the G20 presidency in 2019, asked the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) for a report on the implications of the global energy transformation for climate and sustainability in a broad sense.

While the shift to cleaner energy systems is evident across the Group of 20 (G20), it has specific features in each country. In every case, renewable energy plays a significant role.

This study examines the policy, regulatory, financial and capacity-related challenges that the country has to address to meet targets for renewables to make up 42% of the country’s electricity mix by 2035.

Renewable energy needs to be scaled up at least six times faster for the world to start meeting key decarbonisation and climate mitigation goals. Yet the envisaged energy transformation cannot happen by itself. This report identifies focus areas where policy and decision makers need to act.

This set of briefs, prepared by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), highlights challenges and opportunities as the world seeks climate-safe energy solutions.

This working paper considers how renewables and energy efficiency can work together to contribute to global energy decarbonisation by 2050. It also looks and how this synergy affects energy system and technology cost, and the effect it has on air pollution and avoidance of adverse health effects caused by these pollutants.

Assets like power plants can become “stranded” by unanticipated or premature write-downs, devaluation or conversion to liabilities. This will happen to some degree in the transition to a low-carbon economy. However delaying action to address climate change would result in significantly more severe asset stranding, according to this analysis by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). This raises concerns for investors and companies, as well as policy makers and regulators. 

To ensure a sustainable energy future, use of renewable energy sources and technologies needs to be scaled up not only for electricity generation but also in the end-use sectors of buildings, transport and industry.