A record 295 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity was added around the world in 2022, up nearly 10 per cent from the year before, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena).
Eighty-three per cent of all new capacity last year was produced by renewables, the Abu Dhabi-based agency said in its Renewable Capacity Statistics 2023 report released on Tuesday.
“This continued record growth shows the resilience of renewable energy amid the lingering energy crisis,” said Francesco La Camera, Irena’s director general.
“The strong business case of renewables, coupled with enabling policies, has sustained an upwards trend of their share in the global energy mix year on year,” said Mr La Camera.
“But annual additions of renewable power capacity must grow three times the current level by 2030, if we want to stay on a pathway limiting global warming to 1.5°C.”
Although many countries expanded their renewable capability in 2022, the substantial surge in renewables was still focused in certain countries and regions such as Asia, the US and Europe, Irena said.
Nearly half of all new renewable capacity last year was established in Asia, leading to a combined renewable capacity of 1.63 terawatts (TW). China, the world’s largest manufacturer of solar equipment, added 141 gigawatts to the continent's capacity.
In Europe and North America, renewable energy sources grew by 57.3 gigawatts and 29.1 gigawatts, respectively, according to Irena.
Africa also experienced a steady increase, adding 2.7 gigawatts, which is slightly higher than the previous year.
Oceania continued to experience significant growth, with a boost of 5.2 gigawatts, and South America increased its capacity by 18.2 gigawatts.
Meanwhile, the Middle East recorded its largest increase in renewable energy capacity to date last year, commissioning 3.2 gigawatts of new capacity, reflecting a 12.8 per cent increase, the agency said.
“As energy demand is expected to rise in many regions, the energy transition requires a step-change that delivers a shift beyond the decarbonisation of the supply side,” Mr La Camera said.
“Any expansion of new non-renewables capacity in light of recent global events must be connected to efforts to accelerate the energy transition to make the system more resilient, inclusive and climate-proof.”
Although hydropower commanded the highest percentage of renewable energy generating capacity globally, with 1,250 gigawatts, the installation of new capacity was mostly dominated by solar and wind energy, Irena said.
Solar and wind represented 90 per cent of the total share of new renewable capacity added in 2022, the report said.
Solar energy had the highest increase in generating capacity, with a growth of 22 per cent, while wind energy followed with a 9 per cent increase.
Investment in renewable energy needs to double to more than $4 trillion by the end of the decade to meet net-zero emissions targets by 2050, the International Energy Agency said in its World Energy Outlook last year.
The IEA’s stated policies scenario, which is based on the latest policy settings worldwide, expects clean energy investment to rise to slightly more than $2 trillion by 2030.
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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