BERLIN — The expansion of power generation from renewable sources accelerated in 2022, and within three years it could overtake coal as the main source of electricity, the International Energy Agency says in a report released Tuesday.
The Paris-based agency reported that the global energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered an unprecedented surge in renewable energy as countries turn to wind and solar power to shore up their energy security.
More than 90% of the expansion will come from renewable sources in the next five years, according to the IEA, which has modified its forecast for 2027 with an increase of 30%.
“Renewables were already expanding rapidly, but the global energy crisis has pushed them into an extraordinary new phase of even faster growth as countries try to take advantage of their energy security advantages,” said the CEO. of the IEA, Fatih Birol. “The world is poised to add as much renewable energy in the next five years as it did in the previous 20 years.”
“This is a clear example of how the current energy crisis can be a historic turning point towards a cleaner and safer energy system,” added Birol.
Replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy will help keep alive the possibility of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the agency report. That’s the most ambitious cap nations set in the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change.