Latest news with #AntónioGuterres
Gulf Today
26 minutes ago
- Business
- Gulf Today
91% of new renewable projects now cheaper than fossil fuels alternatives
Renewables maintain their cost leadership in global power markets, IRENA's new report on Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2024 confirms. The report confirms that renewables maintained their price advantage over fossil fuels, with cost declines driven by technological innovation, competitive supply chains, and economies of scale. In 2024, solar photovoltaics (PV) were, on average, 41% cheaper than the lowest-cost fossil fuel alternatives, while onshore wind projects were 53% cheaper. Onshore wind remained the most affordable source of new renewable electricity at US$0.034/kWh, followed by solar PV at US$ 0.043/kWh. The addition of 582 gigawatts of renewable capacity in 2024 led to significant cost savings, avoiding fossil fuel use valued at about US$57 billion. Notably, 91% of new renewable power projects commissioned last year were more cost-effective than any new fossil fuel alternatives. Renewables are not only cost-competitive vis-a-vis fossil fuels but are advantageous by limiting dependence on international fuel markets and improving energy security. The business case for renewables is now stronger than ever. While continued cost reductions are expected as technologies mature and supply chains strengthen, short-term challenges remain. Geopolitical shifts including trade tariffs, raw material bottlenecks, and evolving manufacturing dynamics, particularly in China, pose risks that could temporarily raise costs. Higher costs are likely to persist in Europe and North America, driven by structural challenges such as permitting delays, limited grid capacity, and higher balance-of-system expenses. In contrast, regions like Asia, Africa, and South America, with stronger learning rates and high renewable potential, could see pronounced cost declines. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said, 'Clean energy is smart economics – and the world is following the money. Renewables are rising, the fossil fuel age is crumbling, but leaders must unblock barriers, build confidence, and unleash finance and investment. Renewables are lighting the way to a world of affordable, abundant, and secure power for all.' IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera added, 'The cost-competitiveness of renewables is today's reality. Looking at all renewables currently in operation, the avoided fossil fuel costs in 2024 reached up to US$ 467 billion. New renewable power outcompetes fossil fuels on cost, offering a clear path to affordable, secure, and sustainable energy. This achievement is the result of years of innovation, policy direction, and growing markets. However, this progress is not guaranteed. Rising geopolitical tensions, trade tariffs, and material supply constraints threaten to slow the momentum and drive-up costs. To safeguard the gains of the energy transition, we must reinforce international cooperation, secure open and resilient supply chains, and create stable policy and investment frameworks—especially in the Global South. The transition to renewables is irreversible, but its pace and fairness depend on the choices we make today.' IRENA's 2024 report also explores the structural cost drivers and market conditions shaping renewable investment. It concludes that stable and predictable revenue frameworks are essential to reduce investment risk and attract capital. Mitigating financing risk is central to scaling renewables in both mature and emerging markets. Instruments such as power purchase agreements (PPAs) play a pivotal role in accessing affordable finance, while inconsistent policy environments and opaque procurement processes undermine investor confidence. Particularly, integration costs are emerging as a new constraint on deployment of renewables. Increasingly, wind and solar projects are delayed due to grid connection bottlenecks, slow permitting and costly local supply chains. This is acute in G20 and emerging markets, where grid investment must keep pace with rising electricity demand and the expansion of renewables. Furthermore, financing costs remain a decisive factor in determining project viability. In many developing countries of the Global South, high capital costs, influenced by macroeconomic conditions and perceived investment risks, significantly inflate the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) of renewables. For example, IRENA found that while onshore wind generation costs were similar in Europe and Africa with around US$0.052/kWh in 2024, the cost structures varied significantly. European projects were capital-expenditure driven, while African projects bore a much higher share of financing costs. IRENA's assumed cost of capital ranged from 3.8% in Europe to 12% in Africa, reflecting differing perceived risk profiles. Finally, technological advances beyond generation are also improving the economics of renewables. The cost of battery energy storage systems (BESS) has declined by 93% since 2010, reaching US$192/kWh for utility-scale systems in 2024. This reduction is attributed to manufacturing scale-up, improved materials and optimised production techniques. Battery storage, hybrid systems, combining solar, wind and BESS as well as digital technologies are increasingly vital for integrating variable renewable energy. Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled digital tools are enhancing asset performance and grid responsiveness. However, digital infrastructure, flexibility, and grid expansion and modernisation remain pressing challenges, including in emerging markets, where the full potential of renewables cannot be realised without further investment. WAM
Egypt Independent
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Egypt Independent
Starvation 'knocking on every door' in Gaza 'horror show,' UN chief says
Starvation is 'knocking on every door' in Gaza, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has said, calling the situation a 'horror show.' 'Around the world, we see an utter disregard for, if not (an) outright violation of, international law,' Guterres told the United Nations Security Council. 'We need look no further than the horror show in Gaza. In the level of death and destruction without parallel in recent times. Malnourishment is soaring. Starvation is knocking on every door. Now we are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles,' he said. The UN's humanitarian system is being 'denied the conditions to function' in Gaza, including the space to deliver aid and the safety to help people in need, Guterres said. The Israeli military's new operation in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza has meant that 'devastation is being layered upon devastation.' Guterres also said that he is 'appalled' by the striking of UN premises inside Gaza, including the facilities of the United Nations Office for Project Services and warehouses and residences belonging to the World Health Organization. 'These premises are inviolable and must be protected under international humanitarian law without exception,' he said.
Ammon
3 hours ago
- Business
- Ammon
A moment of opportunity: supercharging the clean energy age
Ammon News - By António Guterres Energy has shaped humanity's path – from mastering fire, to harnessing steam, to splitting the atom. Today, we're at the dawn of a new era. The sun is rising on a clean energy age. Last year, nearly all new power capacity came from renewables. Investment in clean energy soared to $2 trillion – $800 billion more than fossil fuels. Solar and wind are now the cheapest sources of power on Earth, and clean energy sectors are creating jobs, boosting growth and powering progress despite fossil fuels still receiving far greater subsidies. Countries that cling to fossil fuels are not protecting their economies, they are sabotaging them – undermining competitiveness, and missing the greatest economic opportunity of the 21st century. Clean energy also delivers energy sovereignty and security. Fossil fuel markets are at the mercy of price shocks, supply disruptions, and geopolitical turmoil, as we saw when Russia invaded Ukraine. But there are no price spikes for sunlight, no embargoes on wind, and almost every nation has enough renewable resources to be energy self-sufficient. Finally, clean energy spurs development. It can reach the hundreds of millions of people still living without electricity quickly, affordably and sustainably, particularly through off-grid and small-scale solar technologies. All this makes the clean energy era unstoppable. But the transition is not yet fast or fair enough. Developing countries are being left behind. Fossil fuels still dominate energy systems, and emissions are still rising when they must plummet to avoid the worst of the climate crisis. To fix this, we need action on six fronts. First, governments must fully commit to the clean energy future. In the coming months, every country has pledged to submit new national climate plans – known as Nationally Determined Contributions – with targets for the next decade. These plans must align with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, cover all emissions and sectors, and lay out a clear path to clean energy. G20 countries, responsible for around 80 per cent of global emissions, must lead. Second, we must build 21st century energy systems. Without modern grids and storage, renewable power can't fulfill its potential. But for every dollar invested in renewable power, just 60 cents go to grids and storage. That ratio needs to be one- to-one. Third, governments must aim to meet the world's surging energy demand with renewables. Major tech companies must also play their part. By 2030, data centres could consume as much electricity as Japan does today. Companies should commit to power them with renewables. Fourth, we must embed justice in the energy transition. This means supporting communities still dependent on fossil fuels to prepare for the clean energy future. And it means reforming critical minerals supply chains. Today, they're riddled with rights abuses and environmental destruction, and developing countries are trapped at the bottom of value chains. This must end. Fifth, we must make trade a tool for energy transformation. Clean energy supply chains are highly concentrated and global trade is fragmenting. Countries committed to the new energy era must work to diversify supplies, cut tariffs on clean energy goods, and modernize investment treaties so they support the transition. Sixth and finally, we must drive finance to developing countries. Africa received just two percent of renewables investment last year, despite having 60 per cent of the world's best solar resources. We need international action – to prevent debt repayments sucking developing country budgets dry, and to enable multilateral development banks to substantially increase their lending capacity, and leverage far more private finance. We also need credit rating agencies and investors to modernise risk assessments, to account for the promise of clean energy, the cost of climate chaos, and the danger of stranded fossil fuel assets. A new energy era is within reach – an era where cheap, clean abundant energy powers a world rich in economic opportunity, where nations have the security of energy autonomy, and the gift of electricity is a gift for all. This is our moment of opportunity to supercharge the global shift. Let's seize it.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
AI should run on 100% renewable energy by 2030, UN Chief says
Major tech firms should commit to fully powering data centers with renewable energy by 2030, said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. Big tech also must be responsible in its use of water for cooling, Guterres said Tuesday in New York City as he presented the UN's new report on the energy transition, Seizing the Moment of Opportunity, together with the International Renewable Energy Agency. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Product Management Digital Marketing Data Analytics Data Science Finance Leadership Public Policy MCA Healthcare Cybersecurity Operations Management Technology Project Management Data Science CXO PGDM Management Design Thinking healthcare MBA others Artificial Intelligence Degree Others Skills you'll gain: Creating Effective Product Roadmap User Research & Translating it to Product Design Key Metrics via Product Analytics Hand-On Projects Using Cutting Edge Tools Duration: 12 Weeks Indian School of Business ISB Product Management Starts on May 14, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Product Strategy & Roadmapping User-Centric Product Design Agile Product Development Market Analysis & Product Launch Duration: 24 Weeks Indian School of Business Professional Certificate in Product Management Starts on Jun 26, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Product Strategy & Competitive Advantage Tactics Product Development Processes & Market Orientations Product Analytics & Data-Driven Decision Making Agile Development, Design Thinking, & Product Leadership Duration: 40 Weeks IIM Kozhikode Professional Certificate in Product Management Starts on Jun 26, 2024 Get Details 'AI can boost efficiency, innovation and resilience in energy systems, but it is also energy hungry,' Guterres said. 'This is not sustainable — unless we make it so.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Treatment That Might Help You Against Knee Pain Knee pain | search ads Find Now Undo A typical AI data center consumes as much power as 100,000 homes, according to the UN, and the largest centers now being built will use 20 times that. By 2030, data centers could consume as much electricity as all of Japan today, the report finds. Although renewable energy is advancing exponentially across the world as costs fall, the transition away from fossil fuels is highly concentrated in advanced economies like the US and Europe, as well as China, the UN says. Much of the developing world is falling behind. That means clean energy is not replacing fossil energy at the pace and scale needed. Live Events Emerging geopolitical risks — including tariffs — could raise clean-energy costs in the short term, the report says. Adding vast amounts of renewable capacity will also make grids more volatile, and addressing that could bump up costs for a time. But long-term, the cost of clean power will continue to decline, the report predicts, as technology evolves and the supply chain matures. Bloomberg The energy transition has reached a point of no return, Guterres said in his speech. 'The clean energy future is no longer a promise, it's a fact,' he said. 'No government, no industry, no special interest can stop it.' Over 90% of new renewable projects produce electricity for less than the cheapest fossil-fuel alternative, according to new data from the International Renewable Energy Agency. Some $2 trillion was invested in clean energy in 2024, the UN says — about $800 billion more than went into fossil fuels. But clean power adoption remains deeply unequal. Africa made up just 1.5% of global investment in renewables last year, despite accounting for 85% of the world's population without access to electricity. Less than one in every five dollars invested in clean power has gone to emerging markets outside China since the Paris Agreement came into force in 2016. Bloomberg World leaders committed to try to limit global warming to 1.5C when they signed the Paris accord. A decade later, with that goal in grave peril, nations are due to present their new emissions plans ahead of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil in November. Countries in the Group of 20 produce the bulk of emissions so must lead in ambition, Guterres said. 'The race for the new must not be a race for the few,' he said. 'It must be a relay — shared, inclusive and resilient.'
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
World on brink of climate breakthrough as fossil fuels ‘run out of road', UN chief says
The world is on the brink of a breakthrough in the climate fight and fossil fuels are running out of road, the UN chief said on Tuesday, as he urged countries to funnel support into low-carbon energy. More than nine in 10 renewable power projects globally are now cheaper than fossil fuel alternatives. Solar power is about 41% cheaper than the lowest-cost fossil fuel alternative, and onshore wind generation is less than half the price of fossil fuels, according to a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency. Costs have been driven down by the increasingly widespread use of the technologies, a huge focus on low-carbon manufacturing in China, and burgeoning investment in the sector, reaching $2tn last year – which was $800bn more than went into fossil fuels, and an increase of 70% in the last decade. The UN secretary general, António Guterres, said: 'We are on the cusp of a new era. Fossil fuels are running out of road. The sun is rising on a clean energy age.' Guterres said countries seeking energy security against geopolitical threats and lower costs for consumers amid a global cost-of-living crisis must choose renewables. 'The greatest threat to energy security today is fossil fuels. They leave economies and people at the mercy of price shocks, supply disruptions and geopolitical turmoil,' he said. 'There are no price spikes for sunlight. No embargos on wind.' Energy demand is still rising, however, driven by the demand for cooling as temperatures rise beyond bearable levels in many countries, and by the soaring demand for power for IT datacentres, including for AI. If even a proportion of this increase is devoted to fossil fuels it will become impossible to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C above preindustrial levels, as countries have vowed to do. The secretary general called on big technology companies to commit to sourcing 100% of their electricity demands from low-carbon generation by 2030. Nearly every country is now obliged to come up with a new national plan on greenhouse gas emissions under the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Guterres said it made economic sense for countries to use those plans, due in September, to funnel support into low-carbon energy, and reduce the billions in subsidies that still go to fossil fuels. 'This transformation is fundamentally about energy security and people's security. It's about smart economics,' he said in a speech in New York, which was delayed from last month by Israel's attack on Iran. 'We have passed the point of no return [to fossil fuels].' Francesco La Camera, the director general of Irena, said: 'The cost-competitiveness of renewables is today's reality. New renewable power outcompetes fossil fuels on cost, offering a clear path to affordable, secure and sustainable energy.' Fossil fuel interests are still strong in many countries. In the US, incentives for clean power have been cut by Donald Trump, who is seeking to boost coal, gas and oil. In China, new coal-fired power stations are still being planned, despite the country's strong showing on renewables, and in March, India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, celebrated the country's billionth tonne of coal production. La Camera said: 'Progress [on renewables] is not guaranteed. Rising geopolitical tensions, trade tariffs, and material supply constraints threaten to slow the momentum and drive up costs.' Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion There are concerns over the supplies of the critical minerals needed for renewable energy components, and infrastructure is also an issue, according to the report by Irena published on Tuesday and a separate report published by the UN at the same time. Although renewable generation is increasing rapidly around the world, investments in electricity grids are failing to keep up. For every $1 invested in generation, only about 60 cents is invested in national grids. For the energy transition needed, the investments need to be roughly at parity. Guterres's speech marked a change in tone for the UN secretary general, who has raised the alarm in increasingly stark terms over the climate crisis in recent years. He warned in the Guardian in 2022 that the world would be 'doomed' if climate talks failed; in 2023 he said 'the era of global boiling' had arrived; last year he called fossil fuel companies 'the godfathers of climate chaos'. This fresh intervention takes a notably more upbeat tone, focusing on the economic benefits of a shift to clean energy. Bill Hare, chief executive of the Climate Analytics thinktank, said investors and governments should take note: 'Any investment in new fossil fuels now is a fool's gamble, while joining the race to renewables can only bring benefits – not just jobs and cheaper energy at stable prices, but energy independence and access where it's needed most. Developing regions like Africa have huge energy access needs, and even bigger renewable resources. What they need now is international finance to share in the renewables revolution.' Kaysie Brown, associate director at the E3G thinktank, called for countries to bring forward strong national climate plans before the UN's Cop30 summit in Brazil this November. 'The world now has both the technical solutions and the economic imperative to accelerate the clean energy transition – a transition essential for global stability and shared prosperity,' she said. 'But unlocking this opportunity demands bold leadership and deeper cooperation.'
