The report titled “World Energy Transition Outlook 2026” published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) examines that, the global energy transition has entered a new phase. Renewable energy deployment continues to break records, technology costs have fallen significantly and electrification is advancing across transport, buildings and industry. Compared with previous editions of the World Energy Transition Outlook, current government plans target higher renewable energy deployment, greater electrification of end-use sectors and a focus on clean hydrogen and enabling technologies.
Yet geopolitical tension, conflict, trade fragmentation, supply-chain disruption and resource competition have propelled energy security, competitiveness and economic resilience to the top of political agendas worldwide. Recent crises have again exposed the economic vulnerability of fossil-fuel dependence, while the expansion of renewable energy systems is creating new dependencies linked to manufacturing capacity, critical materials, infrastructure and technology supply chains. The energy transition does not eliminate geopolitical and economic risks; rather, it changes their nature. Yet, unlike fossil fuel reserves, manufacturing capacity, processing facilities and clean energy industrial ecosystems can be expanded, diversified and replicated through investment, innovation and international co-operation.
This changing context reinforces one of the central messages of this report: beyond the energy transition increasingly represents an essential means to achieve energy security, industrial competitiveness, economic resilience and socio-economic development. Progress, however, remains insufficient. Renewable deployment is accelerating, but electricity demand is growing rapidly as economies develop, access to modern energy services expands and new sources of demand emerge – including electric mobility, cooling during more frequent heat waves, digitalisation, artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres.
Access the full report here