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Abu Dhabi: 'Irreversible consequences' without immediate climate action, warn officials

A renewables-centred energy transition is the only realistic way to solve the current energy crisis, they add

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The world faces irreversible consequences without collective action on climate change, a top official from the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) said in Abu Dhabi.

“We are staring into a terrifying abyss of irreversible climate consequences if we fail to act,” Irena Director-General Francesco La Camera said during the two-day council meeting, which started on Thursday.

The biannual two-day meeting, chaired this year by Uruguay, gathers more than 400 delegates from 108 countries to discuss the world’s energy transition ahead of the annual UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt.

“The Irena Council meeting comes at a critical point in time and gives the international community an opportunity to strengthen collaboration and bolster the world’s commitment to renewables for climate action ahead of COP27 and COP28,” he said.

Fitzgerald Cantero, the 24th Council Chair and National Director of Energy of Uruguay, noted that Irena must continue to spearhead the penetration of renewable energy around the world.

“The solutions to mitigate energy poverty and the solution to the current energy crisis will come from renewables; and those of us who are already on this path will take further strides in this direction.”

This year’s Council meeting will hold high-level events on pressing energy transition topics including hydrogen, critical materials, agri-food and enabling frameworks for the energy transition in high-risk environments. Council members will also discuss Irena’s medium-term strategy among other relevant matters.

Despite continuous growth in renewable energy capacity over the past decade, Irena views the pace of change inadequate in limiting rising temperatures to 1.5 degrees.

According to the Agency’s World Energy Transitions Outlook, a renewables-centred energy transition is the only realistic way to meet the 2030 time-frame for emissions reductions established by the IPCC, as well as the objectives of the 2030 timeline for sustainable development. Tripling investments in renewables will be fundamental for the scale and pace of the energy transition to reach the levels required to achieve Paris Agreement targets.

Separately, a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report released on Thursday finds that the international community is still falling far short of the Paris goals, with no credible pathway to 1.5 degree in place.

“This report tells us in cold scientific terms what nature has been telling us, all year, through deadly floods, storms and raging fires: we have to stop filling our atmosphere with greenhouse gases, and stop doing it fast,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.

“We had our chance to make incremental changes, but that time is over. Only a root-and-branch transformation of our economies and societies can save us from accelerating climate disaster,” Andersen added.

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• Abu Dhabi