MADRID, 15 Jan. (.) –
The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, recognized this Sunday that renewable energies are “the only credible path” to avoid a climate catastrophe during the 13th Session of the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), which celebrates this weekend in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).
“Only renewable energies can safeguard our future, close the energy access gap, stabilize prices and guarantee energy security,” Guterres told the assembly.
The United Nations has warned that the objective of limiting the increase in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius is becoming less likely.
“With current policies, we are headed for 2.8 degrees of global warming by the end of the century. The consequences will be devastating. Various parts of our planet will be uninhabitable. And for many, this is a death sentence,” he added.
According to data from the United Nations, renewable energies currently represent 30 percent of the world’s electricity, a percentage that should double to exceed 60 percent by the year 2030.
During the session, Guterres communicated the roadmap, called the Five-Point Energy Plan, to carry out an energy transition. This program has specified, firstly, the need to remove intellectual property barriers so that key renewable technologies, including energy storage, are treated as “global public goods”.
In addition, it has urged countries to diversify and allow access to the supply chains of raw materials and components for said energy sources. “This can help create millions of green jobs, especially for women and youth in the developing world,” she added.
Lastly, the Secretary General has called on political leaders to speed up the approval of sustainable projects and has valued subsidies to energy companies as well as public and private investments to complete the energy transition.
