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.

The second edition of REthinking Energy – the flagship report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) – looks at how the transition to renewables could help avert catastrophic global warming. As the report points out, renewable energy is at the core of any strategy for countries to meet climate goals while supporting economic growth, employment and domestic value creation.

The Roadmap charts a path for the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, providing options for achieving a 100% renewable energy share in both the power and transport sectors.

Renewables could meet more than one-third of energy demand across Central and South-Eastern Europe cost effectively by 2030 with key decisions taken now.

District heating and cooling (DHC) combined with renewable energy sources can help meet rising urban energy needs, improve efficiency, reduce emissions and improve local air quality. Although currently dominated by fossil fuels such as coal and gas, DHC systems can be upgraded, or new networks created, to use solid biofuel, solar and geothermal energy technologies. 

This white paper, developed by the IRENA Coalition for Action, offers lessons learned for national, regional and local governments defining renewable energy targets and developing implementation frameworks for a 100% renewable future. The paper also includes a global mapping of national and sub-national 100% renewable energy targets.

This white paper, developed by the IRENA Coalition for Action, discusses how companies can increase the share of renewable energy in their heating and cooling operations.

RD&D for Renewable Energy Technologies: Cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean finds wide opportunities to coordinate innovation activities and efforts. Latin America & the Caribbean (LAC) co-invention and cooperative research can help bridge gaps in renewable energy technologies (RET) innovation and diminish the region’s energy challenges.

A working paper from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Statistical Issues: Bioenergy and Distributed Renewable Energy, explains methodological issues related to energy accounting for bioenergy and distributed renewable energy sources.

The transition to renewable-based, energy-efficient heating and cooling could follow several possible pathways. This report outlines the infrastructure and policies needed.

This report assesses current climate pledges in light of the challenge ahead, and explores the transformative opportunity offered by renewable energy that can serve as a vehicle for delivering the needed emission reductions.

Countries have adopted varied approaches to mini-grid development, aiming to extend energy access to underserved communities. But existing regulations are often inadequate to make the best use of renewables.

As the renewable energy sector matures, policies must be adapted to reflect changing market conditions. This brief outlines the latest research on auctions, with a focus on market developments since 2017.

Renewable energy targets can reinforce Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), providing a key element for countries to pursue more ambitious climate pledges under the Paris Agreement.

This report addresses the specific conditions for policy making on renewables in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) across the Pacific region and proposes measures to support successful implementation.

As Japan moves away from nuclear power plants, it has turned to renewables to diversify its energy mix. Auctions have emerged as a key policy tool for the transition.

The report examines the specificities of mini-grids connected to solar, biomass, wind and small hydropower, or some combination of these with other energy sources, and discusses the key factors influencing investors in mini-grid projects.

This report, a joint study between IRENA and the Korea Energy Economics Institute (KEEI), provides new perspectives on the interconnection potential in Northeast Asia and valuable insights for policy makers and key stakeholders.

This report analyses changes in design between the two auctions in Colombia, as well as their price outcomes and the factors affecting those prices.

The report identifies broad success criteria for innovation policy in the sector and suggests strategic policy approaches to advance RET innovation in the context of constrained options, competition for resources, and national economic development goals.

The brief by IRENA, highlights North Africa’s large renewable energy potential and explores its current policy environment to support the energy transition and the deployment of renewable energy in the coming years.

The report offers a comprehensive review of the status and trends in the region’s renewable energy development. It highlights Latin America’s wealth of knowledge, draws key lessons, and outlines findings to support the continued expansion of renewables for power generation, transport and other end-uses.

The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) could reap multiple benefits from scaling up renewable energy use, including reducing water withdrawal by 11 trillion litres (or 16%) and saving 400 billion barrels of oil in the power sector, creating 2000, direct jobs and reducing the region’s per capita carbon footprint 8% by 2030.

Doubling renewables in the global energy mix by 2030 is not only feasible, but cheaper than not doing so. This second edition of IRENA’s global roadmap provides an in-depth perspective on the energy transition in 40 economies, representing 80% of global energy use. It offers concrete technology options and outlines solutions to accelerate renewable energy growth.

Mexico has a large and diverse renewable energy resource base. Given the right mix of policies, the country could attract large-scale investments to diversify its energy supply, with the potential to increase the share of modern renewables in total final energy consumption to 21% by 2030, up from 4.4% in 2010.