Around 90% of renewables cheaper than fossil fuels worldwide, IRENA says
A target was set at the COP28 U.N. climate conference in 2023 to triple the amount of renewables, such as wind and solar, to keep a 1.5 degree Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) warming limit this century within reach.
Last year, 582 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity, such as hydropower, solar, wind and geothermal, was added globally. This was nearly 20% higher than in 2023. Around 91% of the utility-scale projects commissioned were more cost effective than fossil fuel alternatives, the report said.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) was 41% cheaper on average than the lowest-cost fossil fuel alternatives, such as gas, while onshore wind projects were 53% cheaper.
The cost of battery energy storage systems has declined by 93% since 2010, the report added.
The costs of renewable technologies have been decreasing since 2010 due to technological advances and economies of scale.
Continued reductions are expected but challenges in the short term have come from issues such as geopolitical tensions, trade tariffs and bottlenecks in raw material production and procurement, which could temporarily drive up costs, IRENA said.
"Looking at all renewables currently in operation, the avoided fossil fuel costs in 2024 reached up to $467 billion. New renewable power out competes fossil fuels on cost, offering a clear path to affordable, secure, and sustainable energy," said Francesco La Camera, director general of IRENA.
"However, this progress is not guaranteed. Rising geopolitical tensions, trade tariffs, and material supply constraints threaten to slow the momentum and drive-up costs," he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Card Factory nabs Funky Pigeon brand as WH Smith focuses on travel
Card Factory will buy online personalised card company Funky Pigeon from WH Smith for £24million. It comes as WH Smith sells off its non-core assets, as well as its high street business, to become a pure-play travel retailer with stores in airports and train stations. The deal also marks a significant shift from the high street to online for Card Factory, which told shareholders on Tuesday the takeover will make it the second largest online card and attached gift retailer in the market. Over the last two years, Funky Pigeon has generated around £32million revenue per year and £5million in adjusted earnings before nasties.. The deal, which values Funky Pigeon at £26million, represents approximately five times Funky Pigeon's earnings. Card Factory said the acquisition would accelerate the company's existing digital strategy. Chief executive Darcy Willson-Rymer added: 'This acquisition marks a significant step forward in Card Factory's strategy to build a scaled, competitive digital presence in the celebration occasions market. 'It brings a high-quality platform and proven technology, accelerating our ability to compete in the direct-to-recipient card and gifting segment, so supporting our ambition to become the leading omnichannel retailer in our sector.' The deal will be funded from a drawdown of up to £35million under Card Factory's existing borrowing facility. Once approved, it plans to extract 'annual synergy benefits of more than £5million'. Its outlook for the year - of mid-to-high single-digit percentage growth in sales and adjusted profit - remain unchanged. FTSE 250-listed Card Factory shares were up 8.1 per cent to 96p by midmorning on Tuesday. WH Smith said the Funky Pigeon sale followed a 'strategic review' of the business and 'will be used to improve the group's net debt position.' It marks the latest asset disposal for the high street stalwart, after it group agreed a £76million sale of its high street business to Hobbycraft owner Modella. The sale of its high street arm comes after years of under-pressure sales and profits at the division, while WH Smith's travel business has grown to make up the bulk of its sales and profits, with more than 1,200 stores across 32 countries. It will focus its efforts on its stores in train station and airports, ditching the WH Smith name for the TGJones brand.
The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
Barclays joins rival in cautioning against hiking bank taxes
The boss of Barclays has become the latest to caution the Chancellor against hiking taxes for banks in her autumn budget as she looks to bolster the public finances. Group chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan, who is also known as Venkat, said that increasing taxes for banks – or other important sectors of the economy – was not consistent with aims to boost economic growth. He said banks were already 'among the biggest tax payers in this country' and an important sector to help drive economic activity, with growth 'the primary objective for the UK'. 'There are many other important sectors. 'We want all those sectors to prosper,' he added. His comments come after Lloyds Banking Group chief executive Charlie Nunn said last week that raising taxes on banks would be at odds with the Government's pro-growth aims. There has been increasing speculation that Chancellor Rachel Reeves may look to raise taxes, with the banking sector rumoured to be among those potentially in the firing line, as she faces pressure over the UK's public finances following higher-than-expected Government borrowing and U-turns on some spending cuts. Venkat's comments came as the group revealed that half-year profits jumped by nearly a quarter thanks to an investment banking boost amid financial market volatility sparked by US President Donald Trump's tariff war. The high street lender reported a 23% rise in pre-tax profits to £5.2 billion for the six months to June 30. This came despite it booking credit impairment charges of £1.1 billion, up from £897 million a year earlier, after putting by another £469 million in the second quarter. The bank said the rise was largely due to its takeover of Tesco Bank and a more uncertain economic outlook, especially in the US. Its results were better than expected for the second quarter, with profits up 28% to £2.5 billion thanks to forecast-beating revenues in its investment banking arm amid market volatility. Income in its investment banking business lifted 10% to £3.3 billion in the second quarter. Venkat said: 'We remain on track to achieve the objectives of our three-year plan, delivering structurally higher and more stable returns for our investors.' Barclays unveiled more returns for investors, with plans for another £1 billion in share buybacks, and said it has cut around £350 million of costs out of the £500 million in savings planned for 2025.
Reuters
27 minutes ago
- Reuters
Barclays profit rises 23% as Trump tariff turmoil lifts trading
LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - Barclays' (BARC.L), opens new tab first-half profit rose by a better-than-expected 23%, the British bank said on Tuesday, as its markets business reaped bumper returns from the frenzied trading activity sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's trade tariffs. Pretax profit for the January-June period totalled 5.2 billion pounds ($6.9 billion), above analysts' average forecast of 4.96 billion pounds. The bank also announced an expected share buyback of 1 billion pounds and a half-year dividend of 3 pence per share, equating to 1.4 billion pounds of total capital distributions to shareholders, up 21% from the year before. The earnings update from the Britain and U.S.-focused lender saw its investment bank lift overall returns, even as it shifts spending away from that unit to refocus on its domestic retail and corporate banking business. "We remain on track to achieve the objectives of our three-year plan, delivering structurally higher and more stable returns for our investors," CEO C. S. Venkatakrishnan said in the statement. The bank's results were overall ahead of expectations and showed its 2026 target for a greater than 12% return on tangible equity looks increasingly achievable, Jonathan Pierce, analyst at Jefferies, said. Barclays shares rose 0.2% in early trading, in line with slim gains in the benchmark FTSE 100 index (.FTSE), opens new tab. The lender also said the financial impact of Britain's probe into how banks disclosed motor finance commissions could be "materially different" to the 90 million pounds it has already provided for. Lenders are awaiting the outcome of a Supreme Court ruling on the probe, due on Friday. Barclays' results followed Wall Street rivals such as Goldman Sachs (GS.N), opens new tab which reported bumper second quarter earnings, as turbulent markets boosted trading. The British bank's equities income rose 25% compared with an average 18% gain for the top five U.S. banks according to a Reuters calculation based on company statements. Barclays said revenue from trading fixed income, currencies and commodities, its traditional strength, grew 26%, against an average 14% increase for those rivals Bank of America (BAC.N), opens new tab, Citigroup (C.N), opens new tab, JPMorgan (JPM.N), opens new tab, Goldman Sachs (GS.N), opens new tab and Morgan Stanley (MS.N), opens new tab. Investment banking fee income from advising on deals fell 16% for Barclays, compared with a 13% average gain for its Wall Street competitors. ($1 = 0.7492 pounds)
