Renewables’ rapid ascent

Plus, former Italian PM Mario Draghi on energy and Europe’s competitiveness; the outlook for natural gas markets; our latest hydrogen analysis; and more...

Mark your agendas

On Wednesday, we will release our flagship World Energy Outlook 2024, the global benchmark of energy analysis that will explore the key trends and what they mean for energy security, emissions and economies around the world. You can watch the launch event LIVE at 11:00 am CEST on Wednesday.?

Massive growth in renewables to 2030 is set to transform the electricity sector?

Due to supportive policies and favourable economics, the world’s renewable power capacity is expected to surge over the rest of this decade – with global additions on course to roughly equal the current total power capacity of China, the European Union, India and the United States combined.??

Renewables 2024 , the new edition of our flagship annual publication on the renewable energy sector, features our latest forecasts and explores their implications. It sees the world adding more than 5 500 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity between 2024 and 2030 – almost three times the increase seen between 2017 and 2023.??

Solar PV and wind are already the cheapest options to add new electricity generation in almost every country, and solar is expected to account for around 80% of the renewable capacity added between now and 2030. Renewables’ huge growth in capacity worldwide, of which China is set to account for 60%, means they are on course to generate almost half of global electricity by 2030, with the share of wind and solar PV doubling to 30%.??

However, the report notes that governments need to ramp up efforts to securely integrate variable renewable sources like solar and wind into power systems. Making a concerted push to address policy uncertainties and streamline permitting processes – and to build and modernise electricity grids and massively increase energy storage capacity would enable even larger shares of generation from renewables.?

Find out more in our press release , read the full report , and dive into the numbers with our data explorer. You can watch the report launch with our Executive Director Fatih Birol and lead author Heymi Bahar here .?

Former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and our Executive Director discuss energy and Europe's competitiveness?

Our Executive Director hosted former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi at our headquarters in Paris last week for a roundtable discussion involving Ambassadors, business leaders and other key figures on Europe’s energy challenges and the implications for its competitiveness.?

The conversation between Professor Draghi and Dr Birol, who both shared their views and took questions from participants, explored how Europe can bring down its high energy costs and align its decarbonisation and industrial ambitions to support stronger economic growth. It followed the publication last month of Professor Draghi’s highly anticipated report on EU competitiveness, which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen requested to inform the bloc’s future strategy.?

During the in-depth discussion at our headquarters, with Ambassador of France Amélie de Montchalin leading the questions, Professor Draghi noted that the IEA’s guidance was crucial to the report’s development. He spoke about how Europe can reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels and thereby its exposure to their volatile prices – emphasising that the region’s transition to clean energy could boost Europe’s energy security and economic growth potential if strong policy action is taken to address remaining roadblocks.??

Read more about the discussion in our news item . You can also watch all of it here or some brief highlights here . For additional details on the choices ahead for Europe, read the joint opinion article that Dr Birol co-authored with President von der Leyen earlier this year.?

Addressing G20 ministers in Brazil on energy security and clean energy transitions??

Dr Birol recently led an IEA delegation to the G20 Energy Transitions Ministerial Meeting hosted by Brazil in Foz do Igua?u, addressing ministers on the need to turn the energy promises made at last year’s COP28 climate change conference into reality.?

In particular, Dr Birol emphasised that expanding and improving electricity grids and scaling up energy storage will be essential for the world to fully and securely benefit from the COP28 goal of tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030, which our new Renewables 2024 report shows is entirely possible if governments take near-term opportunities for action. Dr Birol also called for international action to achieve universal access to clean cooking and to accelerate the development of sustainable fuels . While in Foz do Igua?u, he also delivered an opening keynote speech at the 15th Clean Energy Ministerial and 9th Mission Innovation Ministerial – and had bilateral meetings with ministers from a range of countries, including Azerbaijan , which holds the COP29 Presidency; Brazil , which holds the COP30 Presidency as well as the current G20 Presidency; and South Africa , which will hold the G20 Presidency in 2025.?

Our Executive Director also delivered opening remarks at the first meeting of our new Global Commission on People-Centred Clean Energy Transitions, which took place in Foz do Igua?u just ahead of G20 Ministerial Meeting. The Global Commission, which is co-chaired by Alexandre Silveira de Oliveira, Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy, and Teresa Ribera, Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, comprises energy, climate and labour leaders from governments around the world, along with high-level representatives from international organisations and labour, Indigenous, youth and civil society groups.?

Members of the Global Commission, along with other G20 ministers who joined the meeting, discussed the findings of a new paper released just ahead of the meeting, which laid out key considerations for fully integrating the principles of fairness and affordability into the design of all clean energy policies. Read more in our news article .?

Natural gas demand growth picks up in 2024 amid uncertainties over supply?

Global demand for natural gas is increasing at a stronger rate in 2024 than in the previous two years, which were heavily affected by the turmoil of the global energy crisis. At the same time, new gas supplies coming to market in 2024 remain limited, while geopolitical tensions continue to fuel price volatility, according to a new IEA review of global gas markets and security.?

Global gas demand is forecast to rise by more than 2.5% in 2024, with similar growth expected in 2025, according to the latest edition of the IEA’s annual Global Gas Security Review . Fast-growing markets in Asia account for a large amount of the increase, while a rebound in Europe’s industrial gas demand is also contributing, even though it remains well below its pre-crisis levels.??

Markets tensions could start to ease next year, however, as LNG production expands. LNG supply growth in 2025 is set to accelerate to near 6% as several large projects come online.?

The new report also includes our latest quarterly Gas Market Report analysis. And it is accompanied by a new commentary that looks at the need for closer international cooperation to ensure secure gas and LNG value chains.?

Low-emissions hydrogen projects grow as policy support races to catch up?

A wave of new projects shows the continued momentum for low-emissions hydrogen despite challenges due to regulatory uncertainties, persistent cost pressures and a lack of incentives to accelerate demand from potential consumers, our latest annual update on the sector says.??

The Global Hydrogen Review 2024 shows that the number of projects that have reached final investment decision has doubled in the past 12 months, which would increase today’s global production of low-emissions hydrogen fivefold by 2030.??

If all announced projects are realised worldwide, total production could reach almost 50 million tonnes a year by the end of this decade. However, this would require the sector to grow at an unprecedented pace between now and 2030, well above the growth experienced by solar PV during its fastest expansion phases. And despite new project announcements, installed capacity for electrolysers and low-emissions hydrogen volumes remain low as developers wait for clarity on government support before making investments.?

Read the press release and the full report .?

Engaging with decision makers in Southeast Asia on its energy future?

Our Deputy Executive Director Mary Burce Warlick visited Southeast Asia recently to participate in the ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting in Lao PDR, where she spoke about Southeast Asia's importance to global energy trends and met with high-level officials to discuss a range of energy and climate issues.??

These included Lao PDR’s Deputy Minister of Energy & Mines Chansaveng Boungnong, Malaysian Deputy Secretary General of Energy Mohamad Razif Abd Mubin, Philippines’ Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla, Singapore's Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng and Energy Market Authority CEO Puah Kok Keong, Thailand’s Permanent Secretary of Energy Prasert Sinsukprasert, and Viet Nam’s Vice Minister for Industry & Trade Nguyen Hoang Long.?

In her address to ministers at the meeting, Ambassador Warlick emphasised that advancing clean energy transitions across Southeast Asia can support the region’s efforts to reach its energy security and climate goals while boosting economic growth.??

Interested in more charts & data? Sign up for our new newsletter?

We recently launched a new IEA newsletter. Drawing on our latest data and analysis, Energy Snapshot uses charts to show and explain the changes taking place across the global energy system.?

Interested? You can sign up here .?

In other news...?

Our Executive Director travelled to Netherlands last week where he met with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof. In their meeting in The Hague, together with Minister of Climate Policy & Green Growth Sophie Hermans, they discussed topics including energy security, climate and industrial competitiveness, with regard to the situation of the Netherlands and Europe more broadly.??

Some key sectors are making notable progress on clean energy transitions through international cooperation, but more widespread efforts are needed to reach 2030 climate goals, according to the latest Breakthrough Agenda Report – an annual collaboration between the IEA and the United Nations Climate Change High-Level Champions. Read the report .?

We recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) on the role of energy technology innovation in reducing emissions and leading clean energy transitions. Learn more in our news article .?

Last week, we gathered more than 100 experts from around the world at our headquarters in Paris for a workshop focused on accelerating the adoption of geothermal energy. Participants from governments, industry and the financial sector shared their experiences and discussed the opportunities and main challenges they face in advancing geothermal technologies and boosting their uptake. The discussions will directly feed into our upcoming report, The Future of Geothermal Energy, which will come out next month. Find out more in our news article .?

Our Executive Director also recently met with Brazilian Court of Audit President Bruno Dantas at our headquarters. They discussed Brazil's leadership in tracking global energy transition and climate policies as International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) Chair and how the IEA's new Energy Policy Inventory can serve as a key tool for monitoring progress.?

Our new commentary looks at the major opportunity countries have to turn methane pledges into action when they submit their upcoming Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. We have identified more than 60 countries that could collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an additional 1.2 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent by 2030 by implementing methane pledges in their NDC updates, which are due by February 2025.?

?ENERGY SNAPSHOT?

Solar PV alone is forecast to account for a massive 80% of the growth in global renewable capacity between now and 2030 – in the form of new large solar power plants as well as rooftop solar installations by companies and households. And despite ongoing challenges, the wind sector is also poised for a recovery, with the rate of expansion doubling between 2024 and 2030, compared with the period between 2017 and 2023. Learn more in our Renewables 2024 report.

WHAT WE'RE READING & WATCHING:??

• Renewables growth set to surge to 2030 [Wall Street Journal]? ?

• Brasil deve levar hidrogênio mais a sério [Folha de S.Paulo]
• ? Les renouvelables sont en train de gagner la bataille de l’énergie ? [Le Monde]? ?

• The world’s renewable energy potential is gridlocked [Financial Times]?
• El jefe de la Agencia Internacional de la Energía: ‘El mercado petrolero está en riesgo’ [El País]

COMING UP:?

15 October: Oil Market Report ?

16 October: World Energy Outlook 2024 ?

22 October: Southeast Asia Energy Outlook 2024 ?

30 October: Energy Technology Perspectives 2024 ?

Early November: Energy Efficiency 2024 ?

Late November: The Future of Geothermal Energy ?

5 December: Global Conference on Energy and AI ?

We're hiring!??

• Energy Data Managers [Apply by 16 October]?

• Statistics Team Lead [Apple by 27 October]?