2 September 2024 - With a pressing need to meet the 2030 renewable energy goal, experts from across our global offices share their insights on the policy actions and business strategies needed to accelerate the energy transition.
Renewables are already the fastest-growing source of power worldwide, but we need to rapidly expand the sector to meet the 2030 goal. This year presents a valuable opportunity to implement laws and policies globally that can unleash rapid growth in renewables.
One of the dominant strengths of CISL is in our convening power and collaborations that help influence and shape the policies we need for a sustainable future. Here, CISL experts from across our global offices offer their views on the business and policy action needed to accelerate the energy transition.
Katherine Quinn, Senior Programme Manager, International Policy
Enormous progress has been made in the transition from fossil fuels to clean and renewable sources of energy. Seven countries globally now generate nearly 100% of their electricity from renewables: Albania, Bhutan, Nepal, Paraguay, Iceland, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. A further 40 countries have generated at least 50% electricity from renewables in recent years.
But more action is required. At COP28, the global community agreed to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030. The last tripling of renewable energy capacity happened over twelve years, from 2010 to 2022; we need to triple capacity again in just six years to prevent catastrophic global warming.
Currently, commitments by individual countries outlined in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement are less than half of what is required to implement the tripling renewables pledge. COP29, in November 2024, represents a crucial opportunity for countries to update their NDCs and take strong, ambitious action to implement clean and renewable energy. The stakes are too high to continue delaying the global surge forwards needed - so we look to COP29 with great anticipation and optimism.
Read more about the Corporate Leaders Network #MoreRenewables campaign.
Romain Pardo, Senior Programme Manager, CISL Europe
The EU has taken steps to accelerate the uptake of renewable energy and the energy transition more broadly. EU institutions have set a binding target for 42.5% renewable energy use by 2030, and a series of measures to speed up their deployment like the simplification of permitting procedures and facilitating power purchase agreements (PPAs).
On the business side, production and demand for renewables has significantly progressed in recent years. This momentum will only grow. The context of war in Ukraine and dependency on Russian fuel has also shown that, beyond its contribution to climate action, renewables have a central role to increase energy security. However, more must be done to accelerate the pace. The European institutions are now entering a new cycle and can seize the opportunity to put the finishing touches to the energy transition.
This can be done by building on existing policies and overcoming certain obstacles. The EU must phase out fossil fuels while creating a fully integrated energy market with the development of energy and grid infrastructure. At the same time, support mechanisms must be put in place to enable citizens, including the most vulnerable, to have access to renewables to lower their energy prices. The finishing line is within sight. The question is if the EU can run in a straight line and how fast it can do so.
Find out more about the work of Corporate Leaders Group Europe on renewables
Sibusiso Nkomo, Programme Manager, CISL Africa
In Africa broadly, the energy transition is not just about generating electricity using solar, wind or geothermal sources. There are multiple levels, ways and speeds to transition energy in African countries. The transition must consider socio-economic impacts, continued supply and expansion of access to electricity and changing business models for countries with existing systems. Other African countries outside South Africa have very little electricity and would have to go straight to building renewables energy systems and forgo the old electricity arrangements and this requires major funding, which is hard to get.
In South Africa, a just energy transition must decarbonise its electricity production from mainly coal to renewables without leaving people and towns in the coal belt of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal behind. In other words, solutions must be found for the loss of economic activity and jobs that are related to the eventual closure of the coal industry driven by the Eskom supply chain, from coal mining to transportation to the electricity generating stations.
On the other hand, the government is ramping up procurement of renewables through private and public companies. In the 2023/24 financial year, South Africa generated 9% of its electricity from solar and wind renewables, about 28 TWh. The majority (79%) was still from coal, at about 170 TWh. The other 18TWh was produced from a combination of gas, nuclear, hydro and pumped storage. [1]
The electricity grid is not fully enjoying the benefits of renewables, located mostly in the southern half of the country’s coastline (wind) and the little populated semi-desert Northern Cape Province (solar). These locations are isolated from the transmission distribution system, which was geared towards the coal stations in the north and east.
For renewable electricity to be added to the system, there is a need to expand South Africa’s distribution network by a further 14,000km to the southeast and west within 10 years at huge cost, about R100 billion. Eskom is running behind on this project and there is now openness to getting the private sector to help expedite this. Another 22GW of renewable projects will come on-stream by 2033 and therefore the grid expansion needs to move faster to reduce further the reliance on coal. [2] Another potential game changer would be the inclusion of battery storage to renewable energy projects to have the system run more efficiently.
Learn more about CISL South Africa
Bev Cornaby, Director of Corporate Leaders Group UK
To keep the UK on track to achieving its net zero targets and a competitive economy based on green growth, cross-sectoral and cross-government leadership is needed. Over the past years, it has become clear that energy security and achieving net zero are two sides of the same coin.
A swift, secure and just transition to a zero-carbon energy system is therefore instrumental and will not only help to improve UK energy security but also serve as a key interdependency for the decarbonisation of many other sectors of the economy.
We also need to address both energy supply and demand. On the one hand, this means ramping up deployment of renewables and low-carbon energy, as well as ensuring our energy infrastructure is fit for purpose while securing supplies of critical materials for renewable energy. On the other hand, reducing demand through energy efficiency measures, for example in the built environment, will help deliver net zero and better energy resilience.
A series of stronger, clearer and more actionable policies from government would help achieve the energy transition needed. That’s why CISL’s UK Corporate Leaders Group is calling for:
- Accelerating renewables and making the UK a renewables powerhouse: unleashing our world-leading offshore wind potential and scaling up the development of emerging technologies such as carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), green hydrogen and battery storage.
- Setting an end to new oil and gas projects.
- Modernising the grid: fast-track investment in electricity networks to turbocharge green economic growth across all regions.
- Reforming the retail energy market, enabling consumers to make low-carbon choices, including rebalancing the price of electricity vs gas.
- Building new flexible capacity and therefore revitalising UK industrial heartlands by pioneering clean, flexible energy technologies.
Read about Corporate Leaders Group UK
Visit our Energy Transition hub
[1] Mararakanye, N., and Bekker, B. (2019). Renewable energy integration impacts within the context of generator type, penetration level and grid characteristics. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 108, 441–451. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2019.03.045
[2] Eskom’s big 14,000km transmission headache – MyBroadband
