Paris

Chief of International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday (September 26) that record investment and development in clean energy technology has revived hopes that global warming can be limited within the goal range of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). But Fatih Birol also said that starting next decade, the world would need investment of nearly USD 4.5 trillion per year in order to make transition to cleaner energy. This is considerably more than the USD 1.8 trillion spending expected this year.

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"The pathway to 1.5C has narrowed in the past two years, but clean energy technologies are keeping it open," Birol was quoted as saying by AFP.

This year has seen temperatures rise to record levels in many parts of the world. The global averages have been around 1.1C higher in comparison to pre-industrial average.

That compares with the goal set by the 2015 UN Paris Agreement to keep global temperature rises well below 2C, while pursuing efforts to limit them to 1.5C to prevent the most severe consequences, such as drought, floods and increased wildfires.

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IEA made an upate to its Net Zero Roadmap. The roadmap suggests scenarios to reach net zero emissions by the middle of the century. IEA has said that an increase in solar power capacity and in Electric Vehicle sales since the year 2021 are keeping the global efforrs in line with the targets.

The agency however said that much more effort was still needed as by 2030 it is necessary to triple global renewable capacity, double energy-efficient infrastructure and further rise in heat pump sales and electric vehicles.

The IEA has also called for 75 per cent cuts in methane emissions from energy sector by 2030. It has been estimated that this would cost USD 75 billion. The figure is just two per cent of the net income of the oil and gas industry in 2022.

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The report said that agency's pathway to net zero will also need equitable transition. This will involve considering national circumstances and requiring advanced economies to reach net zero sooner than developing economies.

"Governments need to separate climate from geopolitics, given the scale of the challenge at hand," Birol said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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