COP28 goal to triple renewable energy ‘possible,’ IEA says

By Clare Fieseler | 09/25/2024 06:28 AM EDT

The pledge could help the world avoid dangerous global warming if countries also enact policies to transition away from fossil fuels.

A solar farm in Louisiana.

The new International Energy Agency report comes less than two months before the U.N. climate conference known as COP29. Entergy

The goals of last year’s global climate talks — including tripling renewable energy capacity — are feasible and open a slim pathway to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, according to the International Energy Agency.

The new IEA report comes as world leaders attend New York Climate Week and less than two months before the U.N. climate conference known as COP29. The analysis, published Tuesday, focuses on how to implement a deal that almost 200 countries signed at COP28 to transform the global energy sector by 2030, namely by tripling renewable energy capacity, doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvements and transitioning away from fossil fuels.

In a statement, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said the goals “can be transformative for the global energy sector, putting it on a fast track towards a more secure, affordable and sustainable future.”

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That stands in contrast to the IEA’s assessment of the goals while countries were hashing them out at last year’s climate talks. At the time, the agency released a statement that said the energy-related pledges would “not be nearly enough to move the world onto a path to reaching international climate targets.”

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