The Council of IRENA meets twice annually to facilitate cooperation among Members, oversee implementation of the IRENA Work Programme and complete substantive preparations for the Agency’s annual Assembly, which takes place in January, at the outset of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.“We will promote a revolution in energy production and consumption, and build an energy sector that is clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient,” said Council Chair Mr. Zhi Guo, Chief Economist of China’s National Energy Administration, upon his election. “Renewable energy has now become a major part of China’s additional electricity generation, which highlights the impact of clean energy as a substitute.”At the opening of the Council, IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin said: “Renewable energy has been the cornerstone of growth in the energy industry over the last five years, during which more than half of global capacity additions in the power sector have been from renewable energy. While great progress is underway in the power sector, attention can be turned to the relatively untapped potential that exists to integrate renewable energy into end-use sectors such as transportation, heating and cooling.”“As the global energy system is undergoing a rapid transition with larger shares of renewable energy, this Council presents Members with the opportunity to set the Agency’s strategic direction towards accelerating this transition to a sustainable energy future,” added Mr. Amin.During IRENA’s 14th Council, participants will discuss the Agency’s future work as part of the Work Programme and Budget for 2018-2019, and its Medium-term Strategy for 2018-2022. Programmatic discussions will cover increasing the share of renewable energy through Nationally Determined Contributions, and scaling-up renewables deployment through effective project facilitation.Improving information about modern uses of bioenergy in support of energy transformation, enabling higher shares of variable renewable energy through flexibility options including electricity storage, and accessing funding in the sixth cycle of the IRENA/Abu Dhabi Fund for Development Project Facility, will also be discussed.Since the last Council meeting in May 2017, IRENA’s Membership has increased by three to 153, with the addition of Lebanon, El Salvador, and Uzbekistan. Nearly 30 additional countries are in the process of becoming Members.

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“In just the last few years, renewable energy has emerged as one of the most economical choices for new power generation in countries around the globe. Accelerated renewable energy deployment in developing countries expands access to energy, improves health and welfare, creates jobs and drives economic growth,” said IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin. “This new funding cycle provides greater opportunity for developing countries to access low cost capital for renewable energy projects to drive the energy transformation and achieve sustainable development. The continued partnership between ADFD and IRENA connects a stable and reputable source of funding to places where it can have the most impact and where financing is one of the greatest challenges.”For his part, His Excellency Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of ADFD, said: “Since the announcement of the first funding cycle of the IRENA/ADFD Project Facility back in 2014, this unique partnership has continued to support replicable, scalable and economically feasible renewable energy projects in developing countries.”He added: “The five previous cycles have attracted a host of impressive, innovative and sustainable projects that go a long way in enhancing energy security worldwide. Following their contribution in advancing the global sustainability mandate, we are delighted to open funding for the sixth cycle and continue our journey of socio-economic growth.”Funding from ADFD, provided through the IRENA/ADFD Project Facility, offers sustainable and affordable energy to millions of people with limited or no access to electricity. In the first four cycles, the Facility allocated US$189 million to 19 renewable energy ventures across the globe, covering up to 50 per cent of the project costs. The loan approval process saw ADFD and IRENA conduct a thorough assessment of entries in close collaboration to select projects that best fulfilled the eligibility criteria.The ventures funded in the first four cycles will bring online more than 100 megawatts of renewable energy capacity and improve the livelihoods of over a million people through providing better access to energy. Spanning Asia, Africa, Latin America and Small Island Developing States, the projects span the complete spectrum of alternative energy sources – wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and biomass – and utilize a wide range of systems, such as hybrid, off-grid, mini-grid and on-grid including backup storage.

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The announcement of the new voluntary contribution was made during a meeting between Adnan Z. Amin, IRENA Director-General and Jean-Luc Crucke, Minister of Budget, Finance, Energy, Climate and Airports, Government of Wallonia at the IRENA Pavilion at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP23) in Bonn, Germany. The funding follows from a similar €1 million contribution made by the Walloon Government at last year’s UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech.“I would like to congratulate IRENA for its work to promote and develop renewable energy on a global scale in so little time since it was founded,” said Minister Crucke. “This work has given it a key position on the international scene in the renewable energy sector, of course, but also in our common work to combat climate change. The Government of Wallonia would like to continue to support IRENA in its work to assist member countries in deploying their strategies to implement their NDCs, in particular developing countries.”The funding will be used to support an IRENA facility announced last week in Bonn that will provide strategic planning and technical support to countries to raise achievable renewable energy ambitions under their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).“Renewable energy is not only good for climate it is also good for growth,” said IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin. “It is clear that there is substantial opportunity for countries to raise their renewable energy ambitions so we are grateful to the Wallonian Government’s continued support of the Agency’s efforts in this area, especially at this critical juncture when countries begin to revise their commitments under the Paris Accord.”The contribution towards the NDC renewable energy facility is a timely one given IRENA’s recent finding that current NDCs and energy strategies can be substantially enhanced to meet global climate objectives. The new report also finds that renewable energy already targeted within national energy strategies often exceeds such capacity currently envisaged under NDCs.

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Released at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, the report found that current NDCs and energy strategies can be substantially enhanced to meet global climate objectives. Entitled ‘Untapped Potential for Climate Action: Renewable Energy in Nationally Determined Contributions’, the report also identifies that renewable energy already targeted within national energy strategies often exceeds renewable energy capacity currently envisaged under NDCs. Renewable energy deployment levels under current NDCs would bring online 80GW of renewable energy capacity globally each year, between 2015 – 2030. However, the current pace of deployment has seen countries install 125GW of new renewable energy capacity on average annually between 2010 and 2016, suggesting that NDCs can better reflect the global energy transition. The report highlights that a more integrated approach would send a clearer message to the global investment community willing to invest in this sector.“The case for renewable energy has strengthened considerably since parties first quantified the renewable energy components of their nationally determined contributions,” said Adnan Z. Amin, IRENA Director-General at a press conference for the Global Climate Action energy, water and agriculture thematic segment. “Since then, the increasing attractiveness of renewables as the lowest-cost source of new energy supply in countries around the world has fuelled unprecedented levels of deployment. “As the global community prepares for a new round of climate negotiations under the Paris Agreement, it is critical we go in with a clear understanding of the trajectory required to avoid the worst effects of climate change,” continued Mr. Amin. “Our analysis finds that the convergence of innovation, falling costs and positive socioeconomic impacts of renewable energy – together with the climate imperative – make a compelling case for accelerating action.”As part of a mechanism built into the Paris Agreement, countries are required to update or submit new NDCs over time, each of which is designed to be progressively more ambitious than the last. With the second round of NDCs due in 2020, a ‘Facilitative Dialogue’ is set to start in 2018, during which Parties will take stock of initial progress toward the collective goals in the Agreement. Furthermore, while the power sector emissions are addressed in most NDCs, significant carbon reductions in end uses of energy (mobility, heating and cooling) are needed to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement. The use of renewable energy in other sectors of the economy such as transport, industry and residential buildings can also support increased ambition.IRENA also used the platform of the UN Climate Change Conference to announce the establishment of a new facility focused on providing strategic planning and technical support to countries to raise achievable renewable energy ambitions under their NDCs. “Given the gap we have found that exists between what countries are pledging to do under the Paris Agreement and actual progress and potential on the ground, it is clear that there is an opportunity to work with countries in a targeted fashion to ramp up both implementation and ambition,” added Mr. Amin. Key findings of the report, are:• Substantial scope exists for countries to increase their renewable energy ambitions in a cost-effective way under NDCs.• In Africa, NDCs could cost-effectively target 310 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy by 2030, almost four and a half times the capacity outlined currently in NDCs on the continent and more than twice the capacity envisaged in NDCs and national plans.• Only ten G20 countries currently include quantified renewable energy targets in their NDCs, while all of them have set targets as part of their national energy plans and strategies.• NDCs of G20 countries – responsible for 80 per cent of the global energy-related CO2 emission reductions needed by 2050 – could aim for an installed renewable energy capacity of 4.6 terrawatts (TW) by 2030, 60 per cent more than would be achieved though the combined implementation of national energy targets and current NDCs.• Greater alignment of renewable energy targets under NDCs and in national energy plans would facilitate the mobilisation of the investments required to accelerate the energy transition and advance progress towards achieving global climate objectives.• Achieving power sector renewable energy targets under current NDCs, requires almost USD 1.7 trillion by 2030 – USD 1.2 trillion of which is required for unconditional targets, and USD 500 billion will be needed to support targets conditional upon international support.

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Digitalization of Energy Systems, a report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), predicts significant shifts in the intelligence of digital technologies used in energy from today to 2025, and a big change in the sectors of the energy system that most benefit from these technologies. Today, the biggest use of digital technologies like sensors, data collection and analytics in the energy sector is to improve the bottom line of fossil fuel generators. Revenue for digital services for fossil fuel operation and maintenance, or O&M, are estimated to be $24 billion in 2017 – some 44% of the total market size for digitalization measured by BNEF.However, as natural gas and coal plants come offline, and those that remain become digitalized, the opportunities for new revenues from the fossil fuel sector will shrink. By 2025, digital technologies will be more intelligent and more capable, helping home owners that own rooftop solar, batteries or EVs (often termed ‘prosumers’), to become more autonomous and derive greater value from these assets. This could be through trading energy with neighbors or better management of peak power prices. Claire Curry, head of emerging technology analysis at BNEF, said: “Home energy management technologies will see the most significant change in digital revenues, rising from $1 billion in 2017 to $11 billion in 2025. The largest driver for digital technology revenues in 2025 will be smart meters, growing 44% between now and 2025, to $26bn. This revenue increase matches the fall in digital revenues from fossil fuel O&M – 46% over that time period.” Digital technologies like big data, analytics and machine learning, blockchain, distributed energy resource management, and cloud computing, can help overcome some of the key challenges in the energy sector –  most notably intermittency, aging grids, balancing distribution-connected generation, managing consumer self-generation, and coping with increasing system complexity. “Countries with high penetration of distributed renewables, good communications network infrastructure, and robust venture capital investment in digital technologies are likely to take rapid advantage of energy digitalization,” said Julia Attwood, associate on the emerging technology analysis team and lead author of the report.“Italy, for instance, is one of the global leaders in small-scale PV, has almost 100% high speed network coverage, and supportive regulation for digital technologies,” Attwood added.The U.S. will also do well, having long been a leader in digital technologies and early-stage fundraising. Australia, although ranking lower today, will move near the top of the group in 2025 due to high forecast levels of decentralized energy production. In emerging markets, countries that have beneficial government policies, foster innovative start-ups and are rolling-out network infrastructure are likely to digitalize soonest – for example Chile, Indonesia and Nigeria. The motivation for industry digitalization will be different for each player. Generators and ‘prosumers’ are motivated by cost reduction, additional revenue streams and new services. Utilities face pressure from customers, government policy and regulation to improve their businesses. They can use digitization to streamline operations and enhance customer services.Michael Wilshire, head of strategy at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, commented: “The power sector has traditionally been served by large industrial companies selling primarily hardware, but innovation is increasingly centered on software and advanced technologies such as machine learning. Whether the winning solutions will come from industrials, start-ups, or technology companies remains to be seen.”  

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Total new clean energy investment in non-OECD countries fell by $40.2 billion to $111.4 billion in 2016 from $151.6 billion in 2015. While China accounted for three quarters of the decline, new clean energy investment in all other non-OECD countries also fell 25% from 2015 levels. The data was collected as part of BNEF’s annual Climatescope project (www.global-climatescope.org) focusing on clean energy activity in developing countries. Beyond the drop seen 2015-2016, the longer-term trend is also potentially disconcerting for policy-makers. The number of non-OECD countries globally that have recorded clean energy asset finance of $100m or more per year  ?  approximately the cost of one large onshore wind or solar PV power plant  ?  has stagnated at around 27 since 2010. At the historic United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Copenhagen in December 2009, the world’s wealthiest nations pledged to make $100 billion per year available to less developed nations to address the impacts of climate change. The figure was intended to include all forms of climate-related investment. Based on totals calculated by BNEF in Climatescope, there is little to suggest that clean energy finance will make a sufficient contribution to ensure the headline goal will be achieved. Funds specifically deployed from the world’s wealthiest OECD nations to the non-OECD countries to support clean energy build fell to $10 billion in 2016 from $13.5 billion in 2015, BNEF found. This figure is inclusive of both public finance (largely in the form of development bank and export-import institutions) and entirely private capital.A swifter pace of clean energy scale-up will no doubt be required if the world is to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. BNEF estimates that a total of $8.7 trillion will be invested in zero-carbon emitting energy projects through 2040 under the firm’s long-term New Energy Outlook estimates. However, an additional $5.4 trillion will be needed to keep the total temperature rise at 2-degrees Celsius – and to keep the worst potential impacts of climate change in check.  In terms of the $100 billion per year promise, the UNFCCC Standing Committee estimates non-clean energy climate-related investment totaled $60.5 billion in 2014. Had BNEF’s “north-south” figure for clean energy flows for that year been included in that analysis, the total would have come to $71.3 billion. Given the $10 billion deployed from wealthier to less developed countries for clean energy in 2016, unless all other forms of climate-related investment have risen very sharply since 2014, the $100 billion goal appears far from reach with only three years to go until 2020.Two years ago at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, nearly 200 countries pledged to address CO2 emissions through “nationally determined contributions”. While these promises varied in ambition and scope, virtually all required countries to undertake additional domestic policy-making to meet their internationally-stated goals. In that regard, the Climatescope survey suggests developing countries have substantial work to do. Of 71 nations researched in detail by BNEF, 76% have established domestic CO2 containment goals. However, only two thirds (67%) have introduced feed-in tariffs or auctions to support clean energy projects, and just 18% have set domestic greenhouse gas emissions reduction policies. These detailed, technical regulations have proven critical to attracting private capital in developing countries clean energy and facilitating scale-up.“The figures highlight the gap between talk and action when it comes to addressing climate and supporting clean energy,” said Ethan Zindler of BNEF. “Wealthier countries have been slower to ramp investment than might have been expected, given the promises made eight years ago at Copenhagen. But poorer nations have in many cases not built the policy frameworks needed to build investor confidence and attract clean energy investment.”The Copenhagen $100 billion pledge was reiterated in the 2015 Paris Agreement. In response, some developing countries pledged to meet emissions targets only on the condition that sufficient financial and technical assistance was provided. Twenty-five nations examined through Climatescope pledged to achieve more aggressive CO2 reduction goals if the wealthiest nations followed through entirely on the Copenhagen promise. Another 19 countries said they would cancel their commitments altogether if sufficient assistance was not provided. Brazil, for example, has committed to cut its harmful greenhouse gas emissions by 37% from 2005 levels by 2025 regardless of what support it receives from others. However, the country has also said it will cut emissions 43% with sufficient support from the international community. Decarbonizing the world’s power-generating sector was not the only intention of the original $100 billion per year pledge, but the power sector today accounts for around a third of greenhouse gas emissions in emerging markets. And total CO2 emissions from non-OECD countries skyrocketed 65% from 2002 through 2012 thanks to exceptional economic growth rates in China and other countries.  Looking ahead, supporting clean energy in developing countries is potentially crucial to addressing climate change as these nations are expected to see the fastest rates of economic and electricity demand growth. The Paris Agreement brought 195 countries together to agree on the urgency of addressing climate change. The accord showed its resilience when world leaders collectively condemned plans by the U.S. to withdraw from the pact. Yet Paris can only be judged a success when its signatories follow through on their promises. For wealthier nations, this means fulfilling the promise first made at Copenhagen to provide financial assistance to lesser developed countries. For non-OECD nations, this means adopting detailed clean energy policy measures shown to build investor confidence. 

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