What progress have you recently made? IRENA has become the agency respon- sible for tracking and monitoring the global commitment to triple installed renewable energy capacity by 2030. This places us in the role of a custo- dian agency, responsible for assessing global progress and recommending the priorities needed to stay on course. It represents a major recognition of IRENA’s leadership and expertise. This year’s progress report was presented in October to the delegations at the pre- paratory meetings of the UN Climate Conference in Brazil. The new report clearly confirms that global investments in renewable power hit a record high of $624 billion in 2024, a notable 7% increase from 2023. Yet, despite this encouraging progress, the pace and scale of investment remain insufficient. To meet global climate and energy targets, annual investments in renewables will need to more than double between 2025 and 2030. What major tasks remain? IRENA has long pointed to the infra- structure gaps as a key barrier to progress on renewable energy deploy- ment. We need to rewrite how international cooperation works and link the idea of development with the idea of building the infrastructure needed for energy systems to run on renewables. Investments in grids are not expand- ing fast enough. This will be critical to support a growing share of renewa- bles, together with more energy storage solutions to provide grid stability. But there are other barriers to overcome, such as the legal environment. The demand is also not enough, so we need policies that ensure markets are ready to work with more renewables. And the workforce must be empowered: the challenge of re-skilling workers so they can move from one sector to another will define the next decade. How can the G20 leaders at their Johannesburg Summit best help? South Africa has identified the right topics for its G20 presidency: energy security, especially energy access for Africa, and infrastructure. All are urgently vital for a more inclusive energy transition that is yet to unfold.
“We need to rewrite how international cooperation works and link the idea of development with the idea of building the infrastructure needed for energy systems to run on renewables”
// FRANCESCO LA CAMERA Francesco La Camera assumed the role of director general of IRENA in 2019. He formerly served as director general of sustainable development in Italy’s Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea. As the national coordinator for the circular economy, he led the Italian delegation at several Conferences of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. He served as co-chair of the Africa Centre for Climate and Sustainable Development and co-chaired the Financial Platform for Climate and Sustainable Development.
Although renewables continue to break global records, our data show that Asia, Europe and North Amer- ica accounted for 85.4% of the installed renewable capacity while Africa holds just 1.6% of the global total, despite the continent’s vast renewable energy potential. By working together to address the systemic barriers that hinder progress, especially in developing countries, we can close regional divides and make the tripling objective a truly shared global success story. At the next IRENA Assembly, we aim to reaffirm that renewables can serve the human cause and form the foundation of an energy system that is inclusive and equitable across the globe.
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