2025 marks ten years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement. Despite record growth in renewable energy deployment last year, progress falls short of what is needed to tackle climate change and enable sustainable development for all.

Initial estimates for renewable power capacity additions in 2024 suggest a new record, at more than 530 gigawatts. However, they remain below what is required each year to reach the installed target additions of 11.2 terawatts by 2030.

1500 delegates, representing 140 countries from IRENA’s global membership, convened for the 15th IRENA Assembly under the theme “Accelerating the Renewable Energy Transition – The Way Forward”. “This theme was carefully chosen,” said IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera as he welcomed the energy leaders in Abu Dhabi. “It reflects and echoes the urgency to shape policies and strategies that prioritise energy security, drive socio-economic development, and mobilise innovative financing solutions to propel the global energy transformation.”

2024 was the hottest year on record worldwide. And recent global political and socio-economic crises have emphasised the risks of economies being highly dependent on fossil fuels proned to price shocks and volatility. The outcomes of COP28 and COP29 as well as the upcoming update of national climate plans (NDCs 3.0) are opportunities for the world to course correct and turbo-charge the renewable-based energy transition.

In his message for #IRENA15A, @UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres reflected on the commendable revolution of clean energy, @IRENA‘s leadership & stressed for immediate action on 3 key areas:
➡️Govts must reflect clean energy plans in the next round of #NDCs,
➡️Mobilisation of… pic.twitter.com/Z4JKIwHAx8

— IRENA (@IRENA) January 12, 2025

Selwin Hart, the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Climate Action and Just Transition, reminded that the developing world must not be left behind in the energy transitions. “We are all in with supporting the developing world and support countries to bridge differences and to ensure that in a divided and complex world, everyone remains focused on ensuring a just and prosperous future for all”, he said.

At a time when developing countries need to increase clean energy investments six-fold to meet global climate goals, Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy Alexandre Silveira de Oliveira, representing the outgoing G20 and incoming COP30 Presidency, emphasised that NDCs 3.0 must raise ambition. He also officially handed over the invitation to IRENA to host the Secretariat of the new Global Coalition for Energy Planning. The new Coalition launched by G20 will promote energy planning as a tool to accelerate clean energy investments in developing countries.

Delighted to meet w/ #Brazil’s @Minas_Energia Minister Alexandre Silveira De Oliveira & commend the countries’ initiative to convene a Global Coalition for Energy Planning during #G20. As the new Secretariat, @IRENA remains fully committed to advance this key mechanism including… pic.twitter.com/uiOb88Jycy

— Francesco La Camera (@flacamera) January 11, 2025

Delegates attending the over 15 sessions during the two-day Assembly (read the full Assembly Live Blog) agreed that accelerating the transition relies on prioritising actions around key enablers such as modernising and expanding infrastructure, adapting policies and markets, and building institutional and human capacities as well as mobilising investment.

🔴Voices from around the globe👉Moderated by @BeckyCNN, High-level panel on accelerating the Energy Transition-The way forward is live now at #IRENA15A. Follow the conversation as we are joined by global energy decision makers: https://t.co/e33h3ALYjd pic.twitter.com/kFyCvcbyo8

— IRENA (@IRENA) January 12, 2025

Global investment in renewables and energy efficiency reached USD 0.9 trillion in 2023, far below the USD 3.8 trillion needed annually until 2030. Furthermore, renewable deployment remains geographically uneven with 85% of installed capacity being concentrated in developed countries and only 1.6% in Africa, as IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook. Some 700 million people worldwide still have no access to electricity.

There is widespread availability of financing for renewable energy projects in other parts of the world that are considered ‘bankable’, but this approach continues to hamper renewable energy financing throughout Africa. A challenge that the Accelerated Partnership for Renewables in Africa (APRA) intends to address. IRENA’s first APRA Investment Forum convened with Kenya saw 25 projects presented, with a combined capacity of 1 GW and project cost of USD 2.7 billion.

IRENA’s Energy Transition Accelerator Financing Platform (ETAF) currently collaborates with 14 partners institutions, which pledged over 4 billion USD to the initiative.

In Mission 300, we are targeting to provide electricity access to 300 million people said Dr. Kevin Kariuki, Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth, African Development Bank, but “unless you address the barriers and create an enabling environment as well as reforms, we will not get anywhere.” Reducing the financial gap requires better financing terms by mitigating country risks, reducing currency risks, and increasing the availability of concessional finance and innovative mechanisms.

Delegates also acknowledged 2025 as an important moment for multilateralism and the global response to the climate crisis. IRENA has assisted more than 100 countries in revising their national climate plans NDCs by developing clear emissions reduction pathways and determining associated, individual investment needs.

🔴Real-time insights and creating global impact at #IRENA15A👉High-level dialogue on tripling impact in Small Island Developing States: Accelerating renewables, climate resilience and sustainable development is happening now: https://t.co/e33h3AMw8L

Watch📽️⤵️ pic.twitter.com/XhM4xHFhbK

— IRENA (@IRENA) January 13, 2025

Recurring and intensifying climate-related disasters continue to disproportionately impact particularly Small Island Developing States (SIDS) with annual adaptation costs soaring to USD 26 billion, approximately 5% of their collective GDP. The continued reliance on expensive imported fuel and food compounds these issues, placing further strain on their economies. Since 2014, IRENA, through its SIDS Lighthouse Initiative amongst others, has been working with 40 SIDS, facilitating 331 technical assistance activities, including data collection, roadmap development, capacity building, and project facilitation.

For the private sector, clear targets and policies to deploy renewable power capacity must be complemented by broader commitments to the expansion and upgrading of transmission and distribution systems to accommodate a growing share of renewables in national energy balances. Assembly dialogues with private sector representatives such as the Public-Private-Dialogue by the Coalition for Action and Utilities for Net Zero Alliance (UNEZA) aim to support regulatory reform and the upgrading and expansion of infrastructure to attract private sector partners, as this remains a major bottleneck today. Another significant barrier to renewable power capacity deployment faced by the private sector is the slow pace of permitting.

A record of 111 youth delegates attended the sixth IRENA Youth Forum which provided a platform for delegates to engage in intergenerational dialogue with youth, amplifying youth voices in global energy policy and supporting youth-led innovations.

Assembly delegates concluded that there can be no solution to the climate crisis without consensus. They send a strong call that the world must strengthen and intensify their co-operation to accelerate the transition, and ensure it develops in a just and equitable way that avoids leaving behind those most in need around the globe.

Read the LIVE BLOG and listen to the recordings from all sessions on 12 and 13 January and check IRENA social media channels on #IRENA15A.

Take a look at IRENA’s Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram accounts and browse Assembly photos on IRENA Flickr.