As missiles fly and oil traders panic, one thing is becoming brutally clear: a world powered by more renewables is a world less exposed to political violence, fuel blackmail by Iran and Saudi Aramco, and petro-instability that have long haunted the Middle East.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), a UN-like energy body based in Abu Dhabi, the world added a record 692 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power capacity in 2025, bringing the global total to 5,149 GW.

Renewables made up 85.6% of all new power capacity added worldwide, while fossil fuel and other non-renewable additions continued to shrink in relative importance. That matters far beyond climate, I believe.

When countries generate more of their own electricity from solar, wind, hydro and bioenergy, they become less vulnerable to oil and gas chokepoints, tanker wars, Red Sea Houthi pirates, Iranian mullahs, price spikes, and the geopolitics of regimes and armed movements that have historically benefited from fossil fuel dependence. Renewables do not solve extremism on their own, but they do weaken the leverage of fuel-dependent systems that have helped finance instability across the region.

“In the midst of uncertain time, renewable energy remains consistent and steadfast in its expansion,” said Francesco La Camera, IRENA’s Director-General. “A more decentralised energy system, with a growing share of renewables and more market players, is structurally more resilient.”

IRENA, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, is the world’s leading intergovernmental agency for the renewable energy transition. It has 171 members and additional countries in accession, and serves as a technical and policy hub for governments trying to decarbonize while improving energy security. Abu Dhabi is its permanent headquarters.

The biggest gains in 2025 came from solar power, which added 511 GW, followed by wind at 159 GW. Together, those two technologies accounted for 96.8% of all new renewable additions globally.

Asia dominated, contributing 74.2% of all new renewable capacity, with 513.3 GW added. China remained the giant, especially in solar, wind, and hydropower, according to IRENA. This doesn’t mean they are a green economy however, because as China grows so does its dependence on fossil fuels. They are not regulated in any way for carbon emissions and tend to do what they want while the rest of the world plants trees and trades carbon credits.

India also posted strong wind and hydro gains. In Africa, renewable capacity rose by 15.9%, its fastest jump yet, led by Ethiopia, South Africa, and Egypt. The Middle East recorded its highest annual growth too, rising 28.9%, led by Saudi Arabia. The House of Saud knows they cannot survive on oil alone in the future. They have also been investing in green hydrogen.

The map is wildly uneven. Europe now holds 934 GW in total renewable capacity, while Central America and the Caribbean remain stuck at just 21 GW. That imbalance is not just unfair; it is also dangerous. Countries with low renewable penetration remain more exposed to imported fuel shocks, debt, and fragile grids.

The world’s next focus should be obvious: grid expansion, battery storage solutions, off-grid solar, and finance for poorer countries. It is not enough to install panels in China as its economy keeps building endless factories and call it a transition.

“This not only indicates market preference but also makes a strong case for renewable energy resilience with brutal clarity,” La Camera said. And in a world where oil routes can still trigger global panic overnight, resilience is no longer a climate luxury, it is national security.

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Widespread mortality of warm-water coral reefs under way, as world reaches first tipping point

The world faces a “new reality” as we have reached the first of many Earth system tipping points that will cause catastrophic harm unless humanity takes urgent action, according to a landmark report released by the University of Exeter and international partners.

With ministers gathering ahead of the COP30 summit, the second Global Tipping Points Report finds that warm-water coral reefs – on which nearly a billion people and a quarter of all marine life depend – are passing their tipping point. Widespread dieback is taking place and – unless global warming is reversed – extensive reefs as we know them will be lost, although small refuges may survive and must be protected.

We are on the brink of more tipping points, with devastating risks for people and nature: the irreversible melting of polar ice sheets, the collapse of key ocean currents and the dieback of the Amazon rainforest – where COP30 will be held.

With global warming set to breach 1.5°C, the report – by 160 scientists at 87 institutions in 23 countries – argues that countries must minimise temperature overshoot to avoid crossing more tipping points. Every fraction of a degree and every year spent above 1.5°C matters.

Green Prophet published an IRENA report today that shows while we’ve made progress in renewables, we aren’t going to make targets unless we double up.

Action to trigger “positive tipping points” of self-propelling change – such as the rollout of green technologies – now offers the only credible route to a safe, just and sustainable future, the report says.

The researchers are working with Brazil’s COP30 Presidency to ensure that tipping points are on the agenda at the summit.

Professor Tim Lenton, from the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter, said: “We are rapidly approaching multiple Earth system tipping points that could transform our world, with devastating consequences for people and nature. This demands immediate, unprecedented action from leaders at COP30 and policymakers worldwide.

“In the two years since the first Global Tipping Points Report, there has been a radical global acceleration in some areas, including the uptake of solar power and electric vehicles. But we need to do more – and move faster – to seize positive tipping point opportunities. By doing so, we can drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions and tip the world away from catastrophic tipping points and towards a thriving, sustainable future.”

Dr Mike Barrett, chief scientific advisor at WWF-UK and co-author of the report, said: “The findings of this report are incredibly alarming. That warm-water coral reefs are passing their thermal tipping point is a tragedy for nature and the people that rely on them for food and income. This grim situation must be a wake-up call that unless we act decisively now, we will also lose the Amazon rainforest, the ice sheets and vital ocean currents. In that scenario we would be looking at a truly catastrophic outcome for all humanity.

“As we head into the COP30 climate negotiations it’s vital that all parties grasp the gravity of the situation and the extent of what we all stand to lose if the climate and nature crises are not addressed. The solutions are within our reach. Countries must show the political bravery and leadership to work together and achieve them.”

The report says that the nature of abrupt and irreversible Earth system tipping points mean that they pose a different type of threat to other environmental challenges, and that current policies and decision-making processes are not adequate to respond. Global action must include accelerating emissions reductions and scaling up carbon removal to minimise temperature overshoot. The expected impacts of tipping processes need to be considered in risk assessments, adaptation policies, loss and damage mechanisms and human rights litigation.

Dr Manjana Milkoreit, from the University of Oslo, said: “Current policy thinking doesn’t usually take tipping points into account. Tipping points present distinct governance challenges compared to other aspects of climate change or environmental decline, requiring both governance innovations and reforms of existing institutions.

“Preventing tipping points requires ‘frontloaded’ mitigation pathways that minimise peak global temperature, the duration of the overshoot period above 1.5°C, and the return time below 1.5°C. Sustainable carbon dioxide removal approaches need to be rapidly scaled up to achieve this.”

 

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The world added a record 582 GW of renewable energy in 2024, but that pace is still far off from what’s needed to meet the COP28 UAE Consensus target of tripling capacity to 11.2 TW by 2030, according to a new progress report released today by the global renewable energy group IRENA, the COP30 Brazilian Presidency and the Global Renewables Alliance (GRA).

To stay on track, the energy system now needs to deploy 1,122 GW every year from 2025 onward — nearly double today’s annual buildout. Global energy efficiency is lagging even further behind, growing by just 1%, far short of the 4% annual improvement needed to keep the 1.5°C goal alive.

The report — Delivering on the UAE Consensus — calls for urgent action to:

• Embed higher renewable targets into upcoming NDC 3.0 climate plans before COP30 in Belém

• Double national ambition in line with the tripling goal

• Scale annual clean energy investment to USD 1.4 trillion between 2025 and 2030 — more than double the USD 624 billion invested in 2024.

Investment, Grids, Supply Chains: The Real Bottlenecks

Despite rising investment, actual project delivery remains slow. Grid limitations and supply chain vulnerabilities for solar, wind, batteries and green hydrogen are emerging as the central barriers — a reality also echoed by energy developers interviewed by Green Prophet this year, who cite grid access and permitting delays as the main brake on deployment, not technology availability.

USD 670 billion per year must go into grid modernisation and flexibility solutions like storage to prevent renewable energy “traffic jams” — a theme seen in MENA markets, where solar capacity is being installed faster than utilities can connect it. Read here how AI can stabilize the grid.

• G20 countries are expected to hold over 80% of installed renewable capacity by 2030.

• G7 economies must play a leadership role by scaling their collective share to around 20% of global capacity.

• Wealthy nations are urged to deliver on the USD 300 billion climate finance floor and move toward the USD 1.3 trillion aspiration set at COP29.

We’ve declined putting in quotes from the talking heads. European blackouts, political instability and skyrocketing prices for food and energy are due to Middle East conflicts and interests fueling conflicts, such as Qatar propping up Hamas and Hezbollah and the Houthis who fire at ships. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is also destabilizing energy prices and has been so for about 4 years now.

In MENA and Mediterranean markets we cover, solar fields now sit ready but under-connected, as grid modernisation lags behind flashy capacity announcements. The region — especially Gulf and North African economies — could play a major role in closing the global gap, but only if infrastructure catches up with ambition and clean tech manufacturing localises, rather than relying on fragile import chains.

::Download IRENA report

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Last year 2023 saw the highest ever increase in renewable energy jobs, from 13.7 million in 2022 to 16.2 million, according to the newly released Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review 2024 by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Labour Organization (ILO). The 18% year-on-year leap reflects the strong growth of renewables generating capacities, together with a continued expansion of equipment manufacturing.

A closer look at the report’s data, however, shows an uneven global picture. Close to two-thirds of new global solar and wind capacity were installed in China alone last year. China leads with an estimated 7.4 million renewable energy jobs, or 46% of the global total. The EU followed suit with 1.8 million, Brazil with 1.56 million, and the United States and India, each with close to 1 million jobs.

As in the past few years, the strongest impetus came from the rapidly growing solar photovoltaics (PV) sector, which supported 7.2 million jobs globally. Of these, 4.6 million were in China, the dominant PV manufacturer and installer. Enabled by significant Chinese investments, Southeast Asia has emerged as an important export hub of solar PV, creating jobs in the region.

Liquid biofuels had the second-largest number of jobs, followed by hydropower and wind. Brazil topped the biofuels ranks, accounting for one third of the world’s 2.8 million jobs in this sector. Soaring production put Indonesia in second, with a quarter of global biofuels jobs.

Due to a slowdown in deployment, hydropower became an outlier to the overall growth trend, with the number of direct jobs estimated to have shrunk from 2.5 million in 2022 to 2.3 million. China, India, Brazil, Vietnam and Pakistan were the largest employers in the industry.

In the wind sector, China and Europe remain dominant. As leaders in turbine manufacturing and installations, they contributed 52% and 21% to the global total of 1.5 million jobs, respectively.

Africa’s impact still small

Despite a great promise from Desertec, bringing solar power from Africa to Europe, Africa’s impact is still small. Africa continues to receive only a small share of global renewables investments, which translated into a total of 324,000 renewables jobs in 2023.

For regions in urgent need of reliable and sustainable energy access like Africa, and especially in remote areas, decentralised renewable energy (DRE) solutions–stand-alone systems that are not connected to the utility grids–present an opportunity to both plug the access gap and generate jobs. See Innovation: Africa. Removing barriers for women to start entrepreneurship initiatives in DRE can stimulate the sector, resulting in improved local economies and energy equity.

Acknowledging the high degree of geographic concentration, Francesco La Camera, IRENA Director-General, said, “The story of the energy transition and its socio-economic gains should not be about one or two regions. If we are all to fulfil our collective pledge to triple renewable power capacity by 2030, the world must step up its game and support marginalised regions in addressing barriers impeding their transitions progress. Strengthened international collaboration can mobilise increased finance towards policy support and capacity building in countries that are yet to benefit from renewables job creation.”

To meet the energy transitions’ growing demand for diverse skills and talents, policies must support measures in favour of greater workforce diversity and gender equity. Representing 32% of the renewables total workforce, women continue to hold an unequal share even as the number of jobs keeps rising. It is essential that education and trainings lead to diverse job opportunities for women, youth, and members of minority and disadvantaged groups.

“Investing in education, skills, and training helps reskill all workers from fossil fuel sectors, address gender or other disparities, and prepare the workforce for new clean energy roles. It is essential if we are to equip workers with the knowledge and skills that they need to get decent jobs, and to ensure that the energy transition is a just and sustainable one. A sustainable transition is what the Paris Agreement requires of us, and what we committed to achieving when we signed up to the Agreement,” explained ILO Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo.

This 11th edition of the Annual Review is part of IRENA’s extensive analytical work on the socio-economic impacts of a renewables-based energy transition. This edition—which is the 4th edition developed in collaboration with ILO–underscores the importance of a people- and planet-centred approach to achieve a just and inclusive transition.

It calls for a holistic policy framework that goes beyond the pursuit of technological innovation to rapidly meet the tripling target at the lowest-possible cost, and prioritises local value creation, ensures the creation of decent jobs, and builds on active participation by workers and communities in shaping the energy transition. Building on its expertise on the world of work, the ILO contributed the report’s chapter on skills.

The report is found here.

IRENA or The International Renewable Energy Agency is an intergovernmental organization, founded in 2009, and mandated to facilitate cooperation, advance knowledge, and promote the adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. It is based in Masdar City, UAE.

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The Renewable Energy Statistics 2024 report released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) based in the UAE shows that despite renewables becoming the fastest growing source of power, the world risks missing the tripling renewables target pledged at the UN conference COP28. 

To stay the course, the world will now have to grow renewables capacity at a minimum 16.4% rate annually through 2030. 

The unprecedented 14% increase of renewables capacity during 2023 established a 10% compound annual growth rate (2017 to 2023). Combined with the constant decreasing additions of non-renewable capacity over the years, the trend sees renewable energy on its way to overtake fossil fuels in global installed power capacity.  

However, if last year’s 14% increase rate continues, the tripling target of 11.2 Terawatts (TW) in 2030 outlined by IRENA’s 1.5°C scenario will fall 1.5 TW short, missing the target by 13.5%.

Furthermore, if the world keeps the historic annual growth rate of 10%, it will only accumulate 7.5 TW of renewables capacity by 2030, missing the target by almost one-third. 

“Renewable energy has been increasingly outperforming fossil fuels, but it is not the time to be complacent,” says IRENA Director-General, Francesco La Camera.

“Renewables must grow at higher speed and scale. Our new report sheds light on the direction of travel; if we continue with the current growth rate, we will only face failure in reaching the tripling renewables target agreed in the UAE Consensus at COP28, consequently risking the goals of the Paris Agreement and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”

“As custodian agency tasked with monitoring the progress, IRENA is committed to support countries in their pathways to meet the target, but we need concrete policy actions and massive mobilisation of finance at full speed to reach our destination together. Consolidated global figures conceal ongoing patterns of concentration in geography. These patterns threaten to exacerbate the decarbonisation divide and pose a significant barrier to achieving the tripling target,” he added.  

COP28 President Dr Sultan Al Jaber said, “Today’s report is a wake-up call for the entire world: while we are making progress, we are off track to meet the global goal of tripling renewable energy capacity to 11.2 TW by 2030.

“We need to increase the pace and scale of development. That means increasing collaboration between governments, the private sector, multilateral organisations, and civil society. Governments need to set explicit renewable energy targets, look at actions like accelerating permitting and expanding grid connections, and implement smart policies that push industries to step up and incentivise the private sector to invest.

“Additionally, this moment provides a significant opportunity to add strong national energy targets in NDCs to support the global goal of keeping the 1.5°C target within reach. Above all, we must change the narrative that climate investment is a burden to it being an unprecedented opportunity for shared socio-economic development.” 

In terms of power generation, the latest data available for 2022 confirmed yet again the regional disparity in renewables deployment.

Who is leading renewable energy growth?

Asia holds its position as leader in the global renewable power generation with 3 749 Terawatt hours (TWh), followed for the first time by North America (1 493 TWh). The most impressive jump occurred in South America, where renewable power generation increased by nearly 12% to 940 TWh, due to a hydropower recovery and a greater role of solar energy.

With a modest growth of 3.5%, Africa increased its renewable power generation to 205 TWh in 2022, despite the continent’s tremendous potential and immense need for rapid, sustainable growth.

Acknowledging the urgent need for support and finance, IRENA is advancing the Accelerated Partnership for Renewables in Africa (APRA) initiative and is preparing an investment forum focused on APRA’s member countries later this year.

Read the full Renewable Energy Statistics 2024 including the highlights, here.

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The world’s renewable electricity capacity hit a record 473 GW in 2023, according to International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). And, no Turkey, nuclear energy is not renewable energy.

In their latest report China’s share in green power additions was a whopping 62.9%. The organization is based in the United Arab Emirates.

• Photovoltaics nominally took over from hydropower as the biggest renewables segment.
• Global solar power capacity surged 32.4% to 1.42 TW and had a 73% share in annual additions.
• Total wind power surpassed 1 TW last year.

The organization warned that many countries are cut off from the benefits of the energy transition. The Renewable Capacity Statistics 2024 report shows that 2023 set a new record in renewables deployment in the power sector by reaching a total capacity of 3.87 TW globally.

Renewables accounted for 86% of all capacity additions.

However, growth is unevenly distributed across the world and the goal to triple renewable power by 2030 is still out of reach.

The 13.9% renewables expansion rate (473 GW) is led by China. The country accounted for 62.9% of the entire increase, with its 298 GW. Its own expansion amounted to 25.7%, to 1.45 TW.

For comparison, global growth was 10% in 2022.

“Policy interventions and a global course correction are urgently needed to effectively overcome structural barriers and create local value in emerging market and developing economies, many of which are still left behind in this progress. The patterns of concentration in both geography and technology threaten to intensify the decarbonisation divide and pose a significant risk to achieving the tripling target,” said Director-General of IRENA Francesco La Camera.

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Renewable power is increasingly cheaper than any new electricity capacity based on fossil fuels, a new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) published today finds. Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2019 shows that more than half of the renewable capacity added in 2019 achieved lower power costs than the cheapest new coal plants.

The report highlights that new renewable power generation projects now increasingly undercut existing coal-fired plants. On average, new solar photovoltaic (PV) and onshore wind power cost less than keeping many existing coal plants in operation, and auction results show this trend accelerating – reinforcing the case to phase-out coal entirely. Next year, up to 1 200 gigawatts (GW) of existing coal capacity could cost more to operate than the cost of new utility-scale solar PV, the report shows.

Replacing the costliest 500 GW of coal with solar PV and onshore wind next year would cut power system costs by up to USD 23 billion every year and reduce annual emissions by around 1.8 gigatons (Gt) of carbon dioxide (CO2), equivalent to 5% of total global CO2 emissions in 2019. It would also yield an investment stimulus of USD 940 billion, which is equal to around 1% of global GDP.

“We have reached an important turning point in the energy transition. The case for new and much of the existing coal power generation, is both environmentally and economically unjustifiable,” said Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA. “Renewable energy is increasingly the cheapest source of new electricity, offering tremendous potential to stimulate the global economy and get people back to work. Renewable investments are stable, cost-effective and attractive offering consistent and predictable returns while delivering benefits to the wider economy.”

“A global recovery strategy must be a green strategy,” La Camera added. “Renewables offer a way to align short-term policy action with medium- and long-term energy and climate goals.  Renewables must be the backbone of national efforts to restart economies in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. With the right policies in place, falling renewable power costs, can shift markets and contribute greatly towards a green recovery.”

Renewable electricity costs have fallen sharply over the past decade, driven by improving technologies, economies of scale, increasingly competitive supply chains and growing developer experience. Since 2010, utility-scale solar PV power has shown the sharpest cost decline at 82%, followed by concentrating solar power (CSP) at 47%, onshore wind at 39% and offshore wind at 29%.

Costs for solar and wind power technologies also continued to fall year-on-year. Electricity costs from utility-scale solar PV fell 13% in 2019, reaching a global average of 6.8 cents (USD 0.068) per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Onshore and offshore wind both declined about 9%, reaching USD 0.053/kWh and USD 0.115/kWh, respectively.

Recent auctions and power purchase agreements (PPAs) show the downward trend continuing for new projects are commissioned in 2020 and beyond. Solar PV prices based on competitive procurement could average USD 0.039/kWh for projects commissioned in 2021, down 42% compared to 2019 and more than one-fifth less than the cheapest fossil-fuel competitor namely coal-fired plants. Record-low auction prices for solar PV in Abu Dhabi and Dubai (UAE), Chile, Ethiopia, Mexico, Peru and Saudi Arabia confirm that values as low as USD 0.03/kWh are already possible.  

For the first time, IRENA’s annual report also looks at investment value in relation to falling generation costs. The same amount of money invested in renewable power today produces more new capacity than it would have a decade ago. In 2019, twice as much renewable power generation capacity was commissioned than in 2010 but required only 18% more investment. 

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Mass migration of people suffering from conflict and climate change ––  from Syria to Iraq to Yemen, to all over countries in Africa –– worries Europe. Climate change messes up water resources, limits agriculture; it promotes famine and exacerbates pest infestations like the locust attack weighing down on Africa and the Middle East right now.

Good news from our hardworking neighbors in Germany – the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the German Development Bank KfW, has just given $54 million USD in aid to help keep young Congo men out of the hands of warlords.

The aid will help the people in the Kivu provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, also known as the DRC. The DRC is arguably the most mineral-rich country in the world – laden with gold, diamonds, copper, lithium, while conversely years of conflict and poor management has kept its people dirt poor. 

Strengthening Smallhold Farmers

The aid money sent by Germany will support over 180,000 people living in rural areas – most of them smallholder farmers – in Walikale territory in North Kivu and Mwenga and Walungu territories in South Kivu.

The farmers will receive assistance to strengthen their agricultural production and post-harvest management, diversify their income generating activities, and improve nutrition and basic social services, the FAO tells us. This, in turn, will contribute to peace and stability in the region.

We hope.

And for Germany and other European countries that means less trouble for them in terms of migrants and refugee absorption, and more economic stability globally. No one wants to see Africa suffer and it’s high time we help all the African nations out of the mess.

Stopping warlords through farming

Besides being mineral rich, the DRC is one of the most fertile countries on earth and has great agricultural potential with approximately 80 million hectares of arable land – the second-largest cultivable area in the world after Brazil. It is also home to approximately half of the continent’s water resources. Yet, its potential remains largely unexploited and it remains one of the poorest countries in the world.

In North and South Kivu, the socio-economic fabric has been destroyed by decades of conflict, displacement and recurring agricultural and climate shocks. Local warlords often take advantage of adolescents’ vulnerability and low levels of education to enroll them in armed groups.

“Without food security, there can be no peace,” said Aristide Ongone Obame, the FAO representative in the DRC. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UNICEF, and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in the east of the DRC will be distributing the aid: “This joint programme offers us the opportunity to break this cycle through building resilience – making households, communities and national systems better equipped to prevent and cope with similar shocks in the future in ways that support economic and social development, preserve integrity and protect children,” said Edouard Beigbeder from UNICEF.

The Government of Germany has been supporting resilience building activities in the Kivus since 2017 with a contribution of $40 million USD through a joint program now winding down. The new programme will build on the successes of this programme, which has reached more than 400,000 people.

Time to invest in renewables in Africa?

It’s time for some contributions from the Middle East and Arab world. Maybe some Arab loan incentives to get renewable energy into the mining industry?

A number of gold mining companies, including one of the world’s biggest – Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) is actively mining in the DRC. Barrick has said over and over again that Environmental, Social and Governance (or CSR) is essential, not an option, in the mining industry. So they could be excellent partners to work with.

According to Catherine Raw, Chief Operating Officer, North America for Barrick Gold, it’s time for gold mining companies to wake up: that investors are aware of and actually want corporate social responsibility (CSR) or ESG criteria to be met when they invest: She tells the Northern Mining News: “ESG is not a new phrase, corporate governance, social responsibility, licence to operate, sustainability: these are all words that have been going on well at least since I came out of university.

“When you own a supermarket, or you own a retailer, or you own a tech company,” she explains, “you don’t have the same kind of exposures. However, this can be a driver or has the potential to drive M&A activity because investors are identifying management teams they trust, those management teams who are able to mitigate or manage the risks associated with ESG issues successfully and have a track record to do so.

“And those companies that slip up, are getting punished in a far greater way than they ever have done in previous cycles,” she cautions. 

If you look at Barrick investor reports, you will notice that more than half of it focuses on the contributions they give back to society. You can see their sustainability section on their website. So gold might be the boost: Gold is a finite resource and in times of trouble (like coronavirus) investors are looking to put their money into the stability of gold. 

A golden opportunity for national solar and wind power projects?

Barrick has JVs with a number of young gold companies and exploration companies out of Canada including Loncor in Toronto (TSE:LN). Canada, as a resource-rich country that knows how to operate mines, and the Arab world as an oil producer that clearly needs to diversify away from oil, could be great partners in turning the DRC –– and all of Africa at large ––  into a renewable energy hub that sends power to all of Africa and parts of Europe. Financing renewable energy projects is not charity. It’s a means of investing and doing good at the same time.

On the sunbelt, mineral rich with gold and diamonds, all parties involved could reap the rewards, as well as local communities near the mines.This article here points out how microgrids, led by mining companies, can be the future and increase corporate dividends.

But meanwhile, aid is still needed to fend off immediate hunger and troubles and build resilience until this bold plan will take root – pulling sun and wind from Africa and turning it into renewable energy across continents.

NASA dreamt it up, then the US Department of Energy, and most recently the Desertec project that never got off the ground. A new mix of dreamers, financing partners from the western east, and the mining industry to believe in it, will help this bold plan hold. What do you think?

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The Tenth Session of World Urban Forum, the world’s most important conference on cities convened biannually by UN Habitat has just concluded. For the first time, it took place in an Arab country, the United Arab Emirates, and the host, Abu Dhabi, had much to contribute to the conversation. 

Throughout the week-long event, representatives of Abu Dhabi municipality, the UAE government and private developers took part in forums and panels where they unveiled projects that are going to transform the landscape and character of the capital. The overall trend is to make the city more pedestrian-friendly and community-based. 

Abu Dhabi is located on several islands and the downtown of the city is situated on the biggest of them. The design of the city center comes from the late 1960s when car mobility was valued over walkability.

Now, the authorities aim to make the city more liveable and to do so, they focus on developing islands surrounding the downtown area. They have already done so with Saadiyat and Yas islands. While the first one became a cultural district with Louvre and New York University, the latter has been established as a globally-renowned entertainment destination. Now, the government is looking at Al Reem and Jubail islands.

Many of the projects that are going to be developed come under the umbrella of “For Abu Dhabi” initiative, which has been allocated $2.18 billion USD to improve liveability of the main cities of the emirate.

One of them will be the city’s first urban forest located on Al Reem Island. The goal is to create a self-sustaining forest with diverse fauna and flora which will let residents of the city get in touch with nature. Al Reem is well-suited for this venture as it is surrounded by a mangrove forest. 

Another project underway on Al Reem is undertaken by a private developer. The Makers District is going to be the first vicinity of the capital focused on artists and creativity. The area is aimed to provide an alternative to multiple-lane roads and high-rise buildings that currently dominate Abu Dhabi. New neighbourhood will comprise of houses, shops, leisure facilities and a hotel – all with an emphasis on fostering interactions. 

The second of the above-mentioned islands is Jubail – until now perhaps the most pristine part of the city. Less than a month ago, Jubail made headlines of Abu Dhabi news because of the new mangrove walk that has been opened on the island. Mangroves are unique trees growing in shallow, salty water and the ecosystem that they create is characterised by exceptionally high biodiversity.

On the side note, mangroves are the most effective trees in carbon capture and sequestration. This type of forest covers more than 150 square kilometres of the UAE shoreline and it is a true gem in otherwise deserted landscape of the country.

To give the residents an opportunity to interact with picturesque mangroves on Jubail Island, a boardwalk was built and opened to the public. 

In May of 2019, a newly established governmental company has unrolled a development plan for the rest of Jubail. 400 hectares of residential, retail, leisure and business areas will be smoothly integrated with the existing landscape of the island. New district will also provide residents with opportunities for nature-oriented activities like kayaking, horse-riding and so on. 

All of the projects described are part of a greater vision for Abu Dhabi to become associated with environmental sustainability rather than oil economy, both in terms of local initiatives and global policy-making. In less than a year, the city hosted two high-level UN events related to climate action – the World Urban Forum and the UN Climate Meeting, a run-up event to the UN Climate Action Summit in September 2019.

Moreover, the UAE showed strong commitment to developing and implementing renewable energy during the World Energy Council Congress, the IRENA Assembly and the World Future Energy Summit which took place in Abu Dhabi in the last few months. 

While Abu Dhabi is still much less popular than Dubai for the common public, it does not need to be introduced to anyone with interest in innovation. Even though Masdar City, one of the UAE’s flagship sustainability projects, is considered to be failed, the country continues to develop solutions that are likely to become blueprints implemented in other parts of the region and the world.

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The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (likened to USAID and the UK and German’s foreign aid) announced last week that it will provide renewable energy loans to 8 projects around the world. The projects will go to building resilience, mainly in island communities which will be able to repay the loans after the renewable energy projects go online. The Abu Dhabi Fund is partnered with IRENA, a global entity that assesses renewable energy opportunities and expectations from countries to stop climate change.  

Among the recipients are the island nations of Antigua, Cuba and Barbuda, but also the Maldives and Nepal. The full list is below. Like any nation seeking allies it is commendable that the fund went outside of the Middle East region, even though so much is needed here. 

Funding sustainable development

Investing in renewable energy in developing countries especially is important – it helps them secure low-cost capital to increase energy access, improve livelihoods and advance sustainable development on the ground. Once the facilities are starting jobs in all sectors will be affected but no doubt a range of renewable energy jobs will be offered at these 8 new projects. 

“Today’s announcement re-affirms the UAE’s and ADFD’s leading efforts to combat the effects of climate change by stimulating robust development across the global renewable energy sector,” said Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of ADFD.

“The Fund’s commitment to this priority has enhanced long-term growth prospects and yielded socio-economic benefits for millions of lives in line with the national objectives of the beneficiary countries,” he added. 

Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA, said: “Overcoming investment needs for energy transformation infrastructure is one of the most notable barriers to the achievement of national goals.

“Therefore, the provision of capital to support the adoption of renewable energy is key to low-carbon sustainable economic development and plays a central role in bringing about positive social outcomes.”

The 8 renewable projects in solar, wind and biogas

In Antigua and Barbuda, an 8 MW hybrid power plant (solar and wind) will receive an ADFD investment of US$15 million. The project is expected to benefit 5,500 households and allows for large reductions in the import of fossil fuels.

In Burkina Faso, an ADFD loan of US$5.5 million will contribute to the construction of a 3 MW solar PV power plant in the country. The project is expected to extend electricity to approximately 40,000 people in rural areas.

In Chad, the ADFD loan of US$15 million will contribute to the construction of a six MW solar power plant. The project is expected to benefit more than 215,000 people in six cities.

In Cuba, a project will receive an ADFD loan of US$20 million to install 8.5 MW of solar PV capacity, supported with 2 MW of energy storage, in Isla de la Juventud. The project will benefit 32,300 people, aims to support the energy sector, decrease fossil fuel consumption, reduce the level of carbon emissions and secure energy consumption from renewable and sustainable sources.

In the Maldives, a waste-to-energy plant project in the city of Addu will receive an ADFD loan of US$14 million. The 1.5 MW renewable energy project will utilise waste in generating electricity and reduce dependence on imported fuel benefitting 35,000 people.

In Nepal, a project will receive an ADFD loan of US$10 million to support a total of 20 biogas digesters which will serve as demonstration units to 270 municipalities. The digesters will convert organic waste into useful energy and offset the use of fossil fuels by replacing it with renewable natural gas.

In Saint Lucia, the 10 MW Troumassee solar power station, battery storage and setting up solar energy systems in the country, will receive an ADFD loan of US$15 million. The venture will support the whole population, economic development, advance the implementation of Saint Lucia’s national energy policy and reduce diesel fuel consumption.

In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, an ADFD loan of US$10 million will support the installation of a 7 MW solar PV project and benefit 2,444 households. The renewable energy venture aims to reduce carbon emissions, fossil fuel consumption and operating costs.

Since the first cycle selection of projects in 2014, ADFD has successfully funded 32 renewable energy projects across the world, covering up to 50 per cent of the total project costs.

They will bring 200 MW of renewable energy capacity online and empower over seven million people with access to electricity, significantly improving their livelihoods. Spanning Asia, Africa, Latin America and Small Island Developing States, the projects encompass a broad spectrum of renewable energy sources – wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and biomass – and technologies.

Since its inception in 1971, ADFD has financed hundreds of development projects in the renewable energy sector around the world worth US$1.187 billion (AED4.4 billion). Driving the objectives of the United Nations’ SDGs, these projects have contributed to the production of more than 2,500 MW of renewable energy in 60 countries.

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