Countries must invest three times more in renewable energy. Otherwise, more extreme weather and water stress will undermine our energy security and even jeopardize renewable energy supplies.
To prevent a rise in global temperatures, the amount of electricity produced from clean energy sources must double during the next eight years.
A new multi-agency assessment from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warns that unless action is taken, climate change, more severe weather, and water stress run the risk of undermining our energy security and even endangering renewable energy sources.
This year, the State of Climate Services annual report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which includes contributions from 26 different organizations, focuses on energy because it holds the key to international agreements on sustainable development and climate change, as well as to the health of the planet.
“The energy sector is the source of around three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions,” says WMO Secretary-General Prof Petteri Taalas, adding “Switching to clean forms of energy generation, such as solar, wind and hydropower – and improving energy efficiency – is vital if we are to thrive in the twenty-first century.
“Net zero by 2050 is the aim. But,” according to the professor, “we will only get there if we double the supply of low-emissions electricity within the next eight years,” said WMO Secretary-General Prof Petteri Taalas.
“Time is not on our side, and our climate is changing before our eyes. We need a complete transformation of the global energy system,” warns Prof. Taalas.
To improve the resilience of energy infrastructure and satisfy expanding demand (which has increased by 30% over the previous 10 years), access to accurate weather, water, and climate information and services will become more and more crucial.
There are many encouraging findings in the 2022 State of Climate Services: Energy study. It emphasizes the great promise of green-powered grids to combat climate change, enhance air quality, conserve water resources, protect the environment, foster employment growth, and ensure a better future for all of us.
The report contains applicable case studies.
- Early weather alerts are ensuring Beijing, China’s energy supply.
- Climate stress tests are assuring that the distribution of energy in the Italian Dolomites is appropriate.
- In Tajikistan, warning systems give advance notification of dry circumstances so that hydropower operations can be planned.
- Information about local wind resources is helping the wind industry make decisions;
- In Germany, solar panel installation on noise barriers is supported by measurements of solar radiation.
By 2050, the majority of the world’s electricity requirements – which will increase over time, making electrification a crucial lever for achieving Net-Zero targets – will be fulfilled by renewable energy, with solar being the greatest source. African nations have a chance to take advantage of latent potential and be important market players.
Africa has 60% of the world’s top solar resources but only 1% of installed photovoltaic power.
”We urgently need to respond to the growing impact of climate change on energy systems if we are to maintain energy security while accelerating the transition to net zero. This requires long-term planning and bold policy action to spur investment, which in turn needs to be underpinned by comprehensive and reliable weather and climate data,” adds IEAE Executive Director Dr. Fatih Birol.
According to Francesco La Camera, IRENA’s Director-General, “now is the time to accelerate the transition to a renewable energy future. Anything short of radical and immediate action will ultimately eliminate the chance of staying on the 1.5°C paths.”
“The intertwined energy and climate crises,” according to him, “have dramatically exposed the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of an economic system heavily reliant on fossil fuels. Advancing the transition to renewables is a strategic choice to bring affordable energy, jobs, economic growth and a resilient environment to the people and communities on the ground.”
There is still work to be done. According to Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, ambitious climate action might yield economic gains of $26 trillion by 2030. However, there is far too little investment in renewable energy, particularly in developing nations, and there is far too little focus on the value of climate services in providing energy to assist both climate adaptation and decisions about how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate change is threatening global energy security
Fuel availability, energy production, and the physical robustness of present and future energy infrastructure are all directly impacted by climate change. Droughts and heat waves are already straining the capacity of current energy production, making it even more crucial to cut back on fossil fuel emissions.
The effects of more extreme weather, water, and climate events are already evident.
For instance, a severe heatwave in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in January 2022 resulted in widespread power interruptions that impacted almost 700 000 people. In the Far East of the Russian Federation in November 2020, freezing rain coated power wires, cutting off energy to hundreds of thousands of residences for many days.
Therefore, in the race to net zero emissions, concerns regarding the impact of global temperature increase on energy security are of the utmost importance (NZE).
When CO2 emissions from human activities are globally balanced by CO2 removals over a predetermined period, net zero emissions are attained. Carbon neutrality also refers to net zero CO2 emissions.
Water is in short supply
87% of the world’s electricity produced by thermal, nuclear, and hydroelectric systems in 2020 was directly reliant on the availability of water. In contrast, 33% of the thermal power plants that rely on access to freshwater for cooling are located in areas with high water stress. This is also true of 15% of nuclear power reactors currently in operation, with that percentage rising to 25% over the next 20 years.
Additionally, 11% of hydroelectric power is situated in extremely water-stressed regions. A medium to very high danger of water scarcity now exists in river basins where about 26% of current hydropower dams and 23% of planned dams are located.
Nuclear power facilities are susceptible to flooding and sea level rise since they not only rely on water for cooling but are frequently situated in low-lying coastal locations. For instance, in the upcoming decades, the Turkey Point nuclear power station in Florida (United States of America), which is located at sea level, will be in danger. According to the International Atomic Energy Authority, consistent advancements in operational procedures and changing regulatory requirements can significantly lower production losses at nuclear power plants caused by extreme weather.
Plans to fight climate change must put energy first
Despite these dangers, only 40% of the government-submitted climate action plans to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) give the energy sector top priority for adaptation, and funding is consequently minimal.
If the world wants to reach net zero by 2050, the supply from low-emissions sources must double by 2030.
Because solar and wind power plants consume significantly less water than more conventional power plants, whether they be nuclear or fossil fuel based, switching to renewable energy would help ease the growing global water stress.
However, the existing country commitments fall far short of what is required to achieve the goals set forth in the Paris Agreement, with a 70% gap in the emissions reductions required by 2030.
Less than half of what is required has been pledged in terms of renewable energy. According to data included in the analysis, 7.1 TW of renewable energy capacity must be added by 2030 in order to achieve the long-term global temperature objective set forth in the Paris Agreement.
The SDG 7 target of ensuring that everyone has access to modern, cheap energy by 2030 is one that the world is projected to fall well short of.
According to the World Bank, Africa, South America, and Asia continue to have particularly inadequate laws and regulations that would allow for decarbonization in the energy sector. And in Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement, there is a relatively low level of acknowledgement of the need for services to support renewable energy.
Triple the investments in renewables by 2050
According to data included in the paper, investments in renewable energy must triple by 2050 for the world to reach a net zero trajectory. The East Asia and Pacific region (mostly China and Japan) saw the greatest investments in renewable energy in 2019–2020, followed by North America and Western Europe.
The number of developing nations with access to clean energy financing is underrepresented.
For the second year in a row, international public financial flows to poor countries in support of renewable energy and SDG 7 accomplishment fell to US$ 10.9 billion in 2019. This level of assistance was less than half of the peak of US$ 24.7 billion in 2017, 23% less than the US$ 14.2 billion supplied in 2018, and 25% less than the average between 2010 and 2019.
Africa may be a big renewable energy player
Africa is the region that has contributed the least to climate change, yet it is already experiencing severe consequences, such as extreme droughts.
Africa has a great opportunity to fill the gap in the demand for renewable energy as a result of the declining costs of clean technology. Africa needs to more than double its energy investment this decade along with a significant increase in adaptation if it is to meet its energy and climate goals. Africa received just 2% of clean energy investments during the past two decades. All Africans must have access to modern energy, which will cost $25 billion a year, or around 1% of current global energy investment.
The study will be released at a high-level event on October 11 and will be presented at the World Energy Council meeting in Scotland on October 13.
Source: WMO Press Release
Image Credit: Getty
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