Beyond Climate Action: How Tripling Renewables by 2030 Can Transform Lives and Livelihoods

At COP28, the world agreed to triple installed renewable power capacity to over 11 TW globally by 2030 to stay on a 1.5°C-aligned pathway. While this is primarily a climate goal, achieving it will generate substantial positive impacts on people's lives.

Here are five reasons to accelerate the energy transition beyond climate goals:

1. Job Creation

Jobs are of great importance in any economy.

They represent a tangible benefit that empowers individuals, providing them with the means to support themselves and their families.

The renewable energy sector is booming with job opportunities across various skill levels. According to IRENA figures, the renewable energy sector added 2.5 million jobs in 2023 alone. Today, more than 16.2 million people are employed by the renewable energy sector.

With a higher representation of women compared to oil and gas sectors, renewables also present an opportunity to improve gender equality in the workforce.

2. Community Empowerment and Social Equity

Renewable energy is a powerful enabler of sustainable development, with immense potential to enhance social equity and empower communities.

Community-driven renewable projects like locally owned solar or wind farms let residents own energy, retain value, benefit directly, influence decisions for fair allocation, and boost community wealth and resilience.

For example, solar-power irrigation systems can offer a reliable energy source for farmers, delivering greater yields and a better harvest. With year-round access to water, farmers can produce higher-quality crops and a wider variety, reducing hardship and supporting the well-being of their families and communities.

3. Cleaner Air and Improved Health

The combustion of fossil fuels is a major source of local air pollution, causing reduced agricultural yields and significant damage to forests, fisheries, buildings, and infrastructure. The most significant impacts, however, are on human health.

Around 8 million people die prematurely each year from air pollution with around 3.2 million attributed specifically to indoor air pollution from the use of polluting cookstoves and fuels, primarily in low- and middle-income countries.

In fact, if current trends continue as they are, 1.8 billion will remain exposed to the adverse impacts of polluting cookstoves and fuels in 2030.

Transitioning to renewables can drastically reduce pollution, leading to cleaner air and healthier populations.

4. Improved Energy Access and Reduced Energy Costs

Around 685 million people worldwide still lack access to electricity.

Renewable energy, particularly decentralised systems, can bridge this gap by providing reliable and affordable energy to remote and underserved areas.

This access is vital for essential services, such as powering schools, hospitals, and agricultural processes, as well as providing clean water to local communities.

Additionally, renewable energy technologies, particularly solar and offshore wind, have seen significant cost reductions. As these technologies become more affordable, consumers can benefit from lower energy bills.

5. Climate Resilience and Energy Security

Fossil fuels have fuelled economic growth and industrialisation over the past 150 years, but their environmental impacts, coupled with geopolitical vulnerabilities and geographic concentration, have underscored the need to transition away from these fuels.

By traditional energy security standards, renewable energy offers the potential for greater stability and resilience owing to their abundance and wide availability, thus reducing overall vulnerability to energy supply disruptions.

Tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030 is both an environmental necessity and a pathway to a more equitable, prosperous, and resilient world, with benefits in sustainable development, economic growth, social equity, and health.

IRENA's "3xRenewables for the Planet and Its People" series highlights these socio-economic advantages -particularly for the Global South-and provides examples of renewable energy's diverse, positive impacts in pursuit of this goal.

Embracing renewable energy is a vital step forward for individuals, communities, and nations alike.

The opportunity is immense, but so is the challenge. It requires collective will, international collaboration, and decisive action.

For more on IRENA's "3xRenewables for the planet and its people" series, click here.

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