Context: The World Energy Transitions Outlook report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has been launched at the virtual Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD 2021).
Key highlights

• The COVID-19 crisis offers an unexpected opportunity for countries across the world to decouple their economies from fossil fuels and accelerate the shift to renewable energy sources.
• The report proposes energy transition solutions for the narrow pathway available to contain the rise of temperature to 1.5°C and halt global warming.
• There will be an emergence of a new energy system based on renewable technologies and complemented by green hydrogen and modern bioenergy. 
• By 2050, 90% of total electricity needs would be supplied by renewables, followed by 6% from natural gas and the remaining from nuclear.
• It stresses the need to focus on the expansion of emerging technologies such as green hydrogen.
• In anticipation of the coming energy transition, financial markets and investors are already directing capital away from fossil fuels and towards other energy technologies including renewables.
• National social and economic policies will play fundamental roles in delivering the energy transition at the speed required to restrict global warming to 1.5°C.
• Energy transition investment will have to increase by 30% over planned investment to a total of USD 131 trillion between now and 2050, corresponding to USD 4.4 trillion on average every year.

About IRENA

• The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organisation mandated to facilitate cooperation and promote the adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy.
• It was founded in 2009 and its statute entered into force in 2010.
• The agency is headquartered in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi.
• IRENA is an official United Nations observer.