Staying on Course: Renewable Energy in the Time of COVID-19 and the First Global Renewables Outlook
The first priority is to provide a robust and cooperative health response, while assessing the impact of the crisis and setting up recovery packages.
As the International Renewable Energy Agency states, this disorienting period demonstrated the importance of implementing the United Nations 2030 Agenda and achieving the Sustainable Development Agenda of the Paris Agreement. They help align and adapt short-term solutions in the face of COVID-19 with medium- and long-term development and climate objectives. Accelerating the transition to sustainable, decarbonized economies and resilient inclusive societies is not just the core element of the Sustainable Development Goals, but it also offers comprehensive solutions to the ongoing crisis that consider social, economic and environmental aspects on wider scale.
The Global Renewables Outlook is a comprehensive analysis showing a path towards the creation of a sustainable future energy system by 2050. The document, published on 20 April 2020 by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), shows the investments and technologies needed to decarbonize the energy system in line with the Paris Agreement. It describes decarbonisation scenarios with the aim of cutting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to zero eventually. The chapter “Transforming Energy Scenario” coupled with an additional “Deeper Decarbonisation Perspective” guides readers through a sustainable, low-carbon climate safe foundation for stable, long-term economic development.
In the light of the COVID-19 crisis management, the report finds that recovery measures could accelerate the expansion of flexible power grids, efficiency solutions, and electric vehicle charging system as well as energy storage.