The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a global roadmap to achieve a radical transformation of energy access and transition by 2030, while also contributing to net zero emissions by 2050. By 2025, the roadmap sets an aggressive timeframe to ensure that 500 million more people have access to electricity and 1 billion more people have access to clean cooking alternatives in just four years.
This would necessitate an increase in annual investments in clean cooking and access to energy to $35 billion and $25 billion, respectively. The required investment is a minor part of the multi-trillion-dollar global energy investment required overall, yet it would benefit one-third of the world’s population significantly. More than 130 heads of state and government, as well as global leaders from business and other sectors, committed more than $400 billion in additional money and investment for clean energy as part of voluntary agreements called Energy Compacts at the UN high-level discussion on energy.
The roadmap also calls for re-directing fossil fuel consumption subsidies to renewable energy and energy efficiency by 2025, as well as a 100 per cent increase in modern renewables capacity globally, a doubling of annual investment in renewables and energy efficiency globally, and the creation of 30 million jobs in renewable energy and energy efficiency. By investing in poverty reduction, health, education, and social protection, these will help achieve an inclusive, green recovery. The roadmap’s most urgent goal is to ensure that no new coal power plants are in the works beyond 2021. In the run-up to the energy summit, the Powering Past Coal Alliance and UN-Energy launched a “No New Coal Power” Energy Compact with seven member states so far: Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Montenegro, Sri Lanka, and the UK. The roadmap calls for tripling yearly investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency, as well as global renewable power capacity, by 2030 for OECD countries, and global coal power plant phasing out by 2040.
REGlobal’s Views: This roadmap, while transformative in its aims of clean energy transition, would need to be supported by ground-level implementation in nations and strict policy interventions by governments.
