Window closing on 1.5deg as IEA spells out $US4.5t/yr challenge

afr.com:

The International Energy Agency has doubled down on finding that no new oil, gas and coal projects can be built if the energy sector is to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, but left the door open for investment in existing fields and already approved projects to help avoid damaging price shocks.

In an update to its landmark 2021 report that gave anti fossil fuel groups abundant ammunition to oppose new oil and gas projects, the IEA found that investment in clean energy needs to more than double from this year’s record $US1.8 trillion ($2.8 trillion) to about $US4.5 trillion a year by the early 2030s to get on course to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.

Coal power plants need to be retired early, the IEA said. Bloomberg

Power grids need to expand by about 2 million kilometres each year through to 2030 as electricity becomes the “new oil” of the global energy system. More nuclear power is needed, increased investment in carbon capture and storage, smarter infrastructure networks and more land set aside for renewables, the IEA said in the report that also warned of a high-stakes supply gap looming on critical minerals to support the transition.

The pathway to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees has narrowed in the past two years, with the impact of the Ukraine invasion driving higher use of coal in the near term, increasing the task of emissions reduction past 2030.

Progress on hydrogen and carbon capture is also slower than was anticipated in 2021, while the expected contribution of wind power have been downgraded.

The report comes as CO2 emissions from the energy sector reached a fresh high last year, of 37 billion tonnes, and are only expected to peak later this decade. Yet the world’s key goal on climate is still in