Report from Ren21 – global share of electricity from renewable energies is increasing – share of renewable energies in the transport sector is developing slowly

According to the latest report from the renewable network Ren21, the current status of renewable energies is fundamentally positive. However, the expansion is taking place too slowly to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. According to the report, progress is concentrated only in the electricity sector, which only accounts for 17 percent of global final energy consumption. The share of renewable energies in electricity generation worldwide is estimated to be over 26 percent in 2018. In the heating, cooling (51 percent of final energy consumption) and transport (32 percent of final energy consumption) sectors, the share of renewable energies is significantly lower at 24 and 3.1 percent in transport, respectively.

Lack of political support

According to the report on the status of renewable energies, the reason for this is, on the one hand, a lack of political support. On the contrary, subsidies for fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas rose to $300 billion in 2017. Compared to the previous year 2016, this corresponds to an increase of 11 percent. In addition, growth is being hampered by the slow development of new technologies, according to the Ren21 report.

Germany is a leader in PV installations

But what does the status of Germany’s renewable energies look like in a global comparison for 2018? In terms of total renewable energy capacity, Germany ranks 5th. If you exclude hydropower, Germany even makes it to 3rd place in the global ranking. And photovoltaic capacity per capita is the only one of the 26 categories in which Germany takes first place.

Network Ren21 reports annually

The Ren21 renewables network has existed since 2004 and was created as part of the international renewables conference. Over time, the organization has gained a reputation as a provider of neutral data and knowledge. The collaboration involves representatives from industry, science, NGOs and governments and receives support from, among others, UNEP, the UN Environment Program. A report on the status of renewable energies is published every year.

A greenValue article by Laura Vyhnal appeared on July 3, 2019.

Source: July 3, 2019, www.greenvalue.de