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Irena urges to fast-track renewable energy

Abu Dhabi, April 16, 2014

The international community has been urged to limit global temperature increase and avert catastrophic climate change by the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena).
 
The transition to a sustainable global energy mix must be accelerated in order to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by 40 to 70 per cent by 2050, it said reinforcing a call from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to fast-track renewable energy.
 
The agency pointed out that renewable energy is the economically viable and technologically proven option to keep CO2 levels below the widely accepted threshold of 450 parts per million (ppm).
 
Speaking at the World Green Economy Summit in Dubai recently, Adnan Z Amin, director general, said: “The latest report by the IPCC reconfirms that averting catastrophic climate change is possible if we act now. But we need to act decisively. Renewable energy, in combination with energy efficiency, provides the most affordable and technologically mature path to bring about the necessary change.”
 
“The accelerated deployment of renewable energy significantly reduces energy-related carbon dioxide emissions at a reasonable cost, and also provides other benefits, including enhanced energy security, more local jobs and value-creation, and a cleaner and healthier environment.”
 
With an average concentration of 298 ppm of CO2  at the beginning of 2014, renewable energy provides a path to lower energy-related CO2 emissions and will help prevent a build-up of atmospheric CO2, he said.
 
The Irena global roadmap for a transition to a sustainable energy future,“REmap 2030”, due to be published in May, shows that renewable energy can reduce emissions by 8.6 Gt to an estimated 32.8 Gt in 2030. 
 
Based on numbers from the International Energy Agency, energy efficiency can yield an additional 7.3 Gt reduction, resulting in global energy-related CO2 emissions of 25.5 Gt by 2030. 
 
The roadmap also points out that investments in renewable energy will create an additional 11 million jobs globally by 2030, and reduce the dependence on imported energy. 
 
The agency emphasised that the world needs concrete actions and partnerships to mitigate climate change, welcoming the upcoming Abu Dhabi Ascent to the Summit, a high-level meeting to be hosted by the UAE on May 4 and 5 to generate momentum for the UN Climate Summit in September. 
 
The Abu Dhabi Ascent will focus on tangible actions and partnerships for countries, businesses and organisations. - TradeArabia News Service



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