Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to jointly prepare roadmap to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030.

The agreement was signed on the side lines of the UAE Climate Tech Forum on Thursday.

The main objective of the project is to establish a global baseline for renewable energy, with a focus on solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, and other technologies including battery storage, complemented by region-specific data, Masdar said in its press statement.

Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Chairman of Masdar and COP28 President-Designate, said: "The world needs to commit to tripling global renewable energy capacity by 2030 and to double it again by 2040. In the 17 years since the UAE leadership established Masdar in 2006, the cost of a kilowatt hour of solar energy has plummeted to under 2 cents and we need to harness this pioneering spirit of innovation now more than ever.”

He said Masdar has already committed to growing its total capacity five-fold to 100GW by the end of the decade.

“This joint research project with IRENA will emphasise the vital role of renewable energy in limiting global warming when the world comes together at COP28," Al-Jaber noted.

Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA added: "The transition to renewables provides a sustainable and affordable solution to many of the challenges we face today, and we have the technology to deploy at speed and scale. In 2022, a record 300 gigawatts (GW) of renewables were added and renewable power now accounts for 40 percent of total installed generation capacity globally. Despite this progress, the energy transition is off track. IRENA's World Energy Transitions Outlook indicates that the deployment of renewables must reach 1000 GW annually to keep the 1.5°C target alive."

 

(Writing by Senthil Palanisamy; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)