Climate Action 2016-2017

storm activity, glacial retreat, and disrupted
rain patterns, among many more, which come
at disastrous cost both economically and to
human health.
The energy sector accounts for two-thirds of
global emissions. As such, any effort to reduce
emissions and mitigate climate change must
focus heavily on decarbonising the global energy
system. IRENA research has found that doubling
the global share of renewables by 2030 to 36
per cent – combined with energy efficiency
measures – would cut emissions to the level
required to stay on the two-degree pathway as
enshrined in the Paris Agreement.
Development with off-grid renewables offers a
path that leapfrogs the polluting route historically
taken by developed economies – one that is not
even a feasible option for countries of certain
sizes and regions of the world. Small island states
are particularly affected by climate change,
and for many of the 750 million people living in
the inhabited 10,000 islands around the world,
the means or resources for large-scale energy
production and a national grid connection are
limited. In these cases mini-grids powered with
diesel generators offer a route to energy access.
Incorporating renewables into these mini-grids
through the addition of solar PV, wind turbines,
and particularly biodiesel, is an attainable goal.
THE WAY FORWARD
Thankfully, the strong business case for deploying
off-grid renewables in rural areas is driving
innovative business models, which is encouraging
growth in the sector. Key market development
initiatives, including the Green Mini-Grids Market
Development Programme, Beyond the Grid Initiative
and the ECOWAS Programme on Access to
Sustainable Energy Services, are steps in the right
direction. But to achieve scale, off-grid renewable
energy development must be transformed from a
project-by-project endeavour to one that is market
Solar cell tree in Indonesia
driven, a message that resonated strongly at the 3rd
International Off-grid Renewable Energy Conference
hosted by IRENA this year.
This will require collective efforts to create an
enabling environment that supports the scale-up
of energy access efforts through private sector
participation. This includes adopting an effective
policy and regulatory framework, along with
tailored business and financing models and
adapting technologies to the rural context. If the
enabling environment is appropriate, off-grid
solutions can be deployed rapidly to extend
electricity access for meeting basic needs but
also for promoting productive uses.
These enabling policies can also create
a more secure environment to encourage
investment. We currently invest nine billion
dollars a year on energy access, but five times
that is needed to achieve universal access.
This investment is beginning to trickle in. In
the last three years, investments in the off-grid
solar sector increased 15-fold, and private
sector players are raising substantial financing
from impact investors, private equity funds,
corporates, government development finance,
donors and crowd funding. For example, the USled
Power Africa’s Beyond the Grid initiative has
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committed US$1 billion over the next five years to
seed and scale distributed energy solutions, and
the Islamic Development Bank will loan US$180
million for Africa projects improving access to
electricity through off-grid solutions.
These early examples demonstrate that, with
the right policies in place to spur investment,
off-grid renewable energy can offer a practical,
actionable solution to many of today’s most
pressing issues. This complementarity presents a
compelling case for policy-makers to adopt a more
holistic approach to energy access and to include
off-grid renewables as a means to stimulate
economy-wide development, fight poverty and
improve livelihoods and protect the planet from
the dangerous effects of climate change.
Adnan Z. Amin is the Director-General of the
International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA),
currently serving his second term. He has
more than twenty five years of experience and
recognized accomplishments in the international
arena, primarily in the fields of sustainable
development, international energy and
environment policy, as well as a solid track record
in institutional and organisational development
and management of international organisations.
ENERGY
Solar cell panels in Thailand
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The International Renewable Energy Agency
(IRENA, www.irena.org) is an intergovernmental
organisation that supports countries in their
transition to a sustainable energy future, and
serves as the principal platform for international
cooperation, a centre of excellence, and a
repository of policy, technology, resource and
financial knowledge on renewable energy. IRENA
promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable
use of all forms of renewable energy, including
bioenergy, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, solar
and wind energy in the pursuit of sustainable
development, energy access, energy security and
low-carbon economic growth and prosperity.
www.climateactionprogramme.org 75