BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 26
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
In order to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and Paris Agreement targets, energy transition must become a transformational effort, a system overhaul, the proposed roadmap suggests, Trend reports with reference to the roadmap proposed at the high-level dialogue on energy held under the auspices of UN.
The reports released ahead of the meeting recommend a rapid scale-up of available solutions to reach 8000 GW of renewables by 2030 from 2800 GW currently, and to increase the average annual rate of energy efficiency improvement from the current 0.8 to 3 per cent. By 2025, 100 countries should establish targets for 100 percent renewable-based power, and there should be no new coal plants in the pipeline globally. The share of fossil fuels in the global mix would fall from the current 60 per cent to 30 per cent by 2030.
The proposed roadmap also calls for countries to phase out coal by 2030 in wealthier countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and by 2040 in non-OECD countries, recognizing that many developing countries will need support for this process. By 2050, 92 per cent of power would come from renewable technologies. “The energy revolution is underway, but 759 million people still live without electricity and the opportunities it provides,” said Achim Steiner, Administrator of the UN Development Programme and Co-Chair of the High-level Dialogue. “It is one of the most blatant examples of inequality in our world today. Affordable clean energy access for all is the foundation for achieving a global energy transition that is fast and fair.”
The reports indicate that a just and inclusive energy transition can create 30 million new jobs in sustainable energy by 2030 and 42 million by 2050. They call for ensuring gender equality in all aspects of energy transition, including more women taking on roles as engineers, policymakers and entrepreneurs. The reports argue that every country and region should integrate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals as a guiding framework for energy transition strategies. Policymakers must explicitly prioritize the needs of vulnerable groups in order to enable an inclusive and just energy transformation and achievement of all the SDGs
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