Global renewables capacity rose 10% in 2022

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), global renewable energy capacity increased by 9.6% in 2022. However, the current growth rate needs to triple to limit global warming, according to IRENA’s annual report on renewable energy statistics. The report stated that the total global renewable energy capacity reached 3,372 gigawatts in 2022, which is a 9.6% increase from the previous year. Of all the new power capacity added in 2022, 83% was from renewable energy sources.

IRENA’s Director General, Francesco La Camera, said that the continued record growth of renewable energy shows its resilience amidst the lingering energy crisis. However, he added that annual additions of renewable power capacity need to triple by 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

IRENA’s report found that solar and wind energy dominated the renewable capacity expansion, accounting for 90% of all net renewable additions in 2022. Almost half of the new renewable capacity was added in Asia, with China contributing the most with 141 GW to Asia’s new capacity. Renewables in Europe and North America grew by 57.3 GW and 29.1 GW respectively. The Middle East also recorded its highest increase in renewables, with 3.2 GW of new capacity commissioned in 2022, a 12.8% increase from the previous year.

On Monday, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that emissions must be halved by the mid-2030s if the world is to have any chance of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a key target of the Paris Agreement.