Impakter
  • FINANCE
    • ESG News
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Business
  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Green Tech
  • Environment
    • Biodiversity
    • Climate Change
    • Circular Economy
    • Energy
  • Industry News
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
  • Editorial Series
    • SDGs Series
    • Shape Your Future
    • Sustainable Cities
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
  • About us
    • Company
    • Team
    • Global Leaders
    • Partners
    • Write for Impakter
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
  • FINANCE
    • ESG News
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Business
  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Green Tech
  • Environment
    • Biodiversity
    • Climate Change
    • Circular Economy
    • Energy
  • Industry News
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
  • Editorial Series
    • SDGs Series
    • Shape Your Future
    • Sustainable Cities
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
  • About us
    • Company
    • Team
    • Global Leaders
    • Partners
    • Write for Impakter
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
Impakter
No Result
View All Result
Home Environment Climate Change

How We Can Reach Net Zero, According to the IEA

Keeping global warming below the 1.5°C increase above pre-industrial levels is still possible, but the energy sector needs new investments, reductions, and international cooperation, the IEA says

byElisa Furlan
September 28, 2023
in Climate Change, Environment, Society
net zero iea
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) 2023 update of the Net Zero Roadmap, limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels is still possible thanks to the record growth in clean energy.

In the past two years, markets for solar PV installations and electric car sales have been growing — in line with the goal set in the IEA’s Net Zero Roadmap, published in 2021. 

Compared to 2021, heat pump sales, fundamental to reaching the EU’s carbon neutrality goal by 2050,  also increased by 11% in 2022.

The Net Zero Roadmap was first published in May 2021 by the IEA. It provides a pathway to Net Zero by 2050, “but not the only one,” for the energy sector, the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.  

So what, according to the IEA, must be done to achieve Net Zero emissions in energy by mid-century? 

The 2023 update highlights that the focus must be on expanding clean, renewable energy. In fact, over 80% of the reductions needed by 2030 can be achieved by “[r]amping up renewables, improving energy efficiency, cutting methane emissions and increasing electrification with technologies available today.” 

We have the tools we need to shift to a net zero pathway

Expanding renewable power, accelerating energy efficiency progress, electrification of transport & tackling methane together deliver more than 80% of the emissions reductions required by 2030

More: https://t.co/7Exw3d73V5 pic.twitter.com/wgtaTRcYcg

— Fatih Birol (@fbirol) September 26, 2023

“[W]ell-designed policies, such as the early retirement or repurposing of coal-fired power plants, are key to facilitate declines in fossil fuel demand and create additional room for clean energy to expand,” the IEA report states.

Supplementing “strong” clean energy growth with policy measures could lead to a 35% drop in CO2 emissions by 2030 compared to 2022 levels, the report finds — a necessary step to realize the Net Zero scenario.

The largest emissions reductions by 2030, according to the report update, should come from tripling global installed renewables capacity by 2030. 

This would be one of the two key actions to reduce fossil fuel demand, and would require “speeding up permitting, extending and modernising electricity grids, addressing supply chain bottlenecks, and securely integrating variable renewables,” the report notes.


Related articles: To Get To Net Zero By 2050, We Must Scale Up Carbon Removal | IEA: Global Oil Demand to Peak By 2030 | Europe’s Transition to Electric Vehicles: How It’s Going, and What Lies Ahead

The other action to drive down fossil fuel demand would be to double the annual rate of energy intensity improvement by 2030, which would “save the energy equivalent of all oil consumption in road transport today, reduce emissions, boost energy security and improve affordability.”

This should step from these “three equally important actions”: 

  • improving the technical efficiency of equipment such as electric motors and air conditioners; 
  • switching to more efficient fuels — electricity in particular — and clean cooking solutions in low-income countries; 
  • and using energy and materials more efficiently.

At the same time, accelerating electrification and cutting methane are also essential to stay within the 1.5°C increase. New technologies — such as electric vehicles and heat pumps — would be responsible for one-fifth of the emissions reduction needed by 2030 in IEA’s new Net Zero scenario.

Moreover, because the transition to zero emissions must also consider economic factors, focusing on methane is smart. Cutting methane emissions for the energy sector by 75% by 2030 would be “one of the least cost opportunities to limit global warming in the near term.”

The key goals for 2030, based on proven & often cost-effective technologies:

➡️Tripling renewable capacity
➡️Doubling energy efficiency
➡️Cutting methane by 75%

These actions drive down fossil fuel demand by over 25% by 2030; solar & EVs are already growing in line with them. pic.twitter.com/ea3bKhUPTA

— Fatih Birol (@fbirol) September 26, 2023

The Importance of Cooperation and Investments for Net Zero

To stay within the 1.5°C, we need to do more — and we need to do it quickly. The effects of climate change are visible to all: From droughts to storms, people worldwide are suffering. Average global temperatures are also increasing: July 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded, with August 2023 falling right behind it.

Worryingly, global carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector are also increasing. In 2022, they reached record-high levels and are set to peak in the next decade. 

Although the projected demand for fossil fuels will most likely peak in the next decade and then decrease, it is not nearly enough to stay within the 1.5°C limit. Today’s improvements are on small, modular, clean energy technologies, such as solar PV and batteries. 

🚨 The @IEA's new #NetZeroRoadmap is out! 🚨

The path to limiting global warming to 1.5C has narrowed since 2021, but despite stubbornly high emissions, the staggering growth of clean energy technologies like solar & EVs is keeping it open

Take a look ➡️ https://t.co/fedMY6NCdW pic.twitter.com/ocBoBe1RWS

— Fatih Birol (@fbirol) September 26, 2023

However, as the report highlights, to reach the goal, we need “large new, smarter and repurposed infrastructure networks; large quantities of low-emissions fuels; technologies to capture CO2 from smokestacks and the atmosphere; more nuclear power; and large land areas for renewables.”

Distribution grids and electricity transmission will also need to expand. According to the report, 2 million kilometres will need to be built each year by 2030.

All these improvements will require large investments. In 2023, the world is investing USD 1.8 trillion in clean energy. To stay within the limit of a 1.5°C increase, this number needs to reach USD 4.5 trillion a year by 2030.

These investments will be repaid in the long run by lower fuel bills. However, developing countries will face difficulties investing such large amounts; therefore, more effective international support and stronger domestic policies are needed. 

Good news! 🚨@IEA’s new #NetZeroRoadmap shows limiting global warming to 1.5 °C is still possible, thanks to record clean energy growth.

But greater ambition & implementation and stronger international cooperation will be crucial to achieve this goal 👉 https://t.co/2HB9OS3fir pic.twitter.com/9yTliNfoDt

— UN Climate Change (@UNFCCC) September 26, 2023

Overall, the report highlights how, by 2035, “emissions need to decline by 80% in advanced economies and 60% in emerging market and developing economies compared to the 2022 level.”

Since each country’s initial condition is different, net zero emissions will be achieved at different times — from 2045 for advanced economies to well over 2050 for developing ones.

Climate change leaves no room for political manoeuvres: A unified effort is needed by every government to “work together on what is the defining challenge of our time.”

As IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said, “Governments need to separate climate from geopolitics, given the scale of the challenge at hand.”


Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of Impakter.com — In the Featured Photo: Solar Panels. Featured Photo Credit: Raw Pixel.

Tags: clean energyenergy sectorenergy transitionIEAInternational Energy Agencynet zero roadmap
Previous Post

US Government Shutdown: A Self-Inflicted Punishment Imposed by Politicians

Next Post

Paris Fashion Week: Can Glamour Meet Sustainability?

Elisa Furlan

Elisa Furlan

Elisa was born in Rome, Italy, and she is on a mission to discover new ways to live more sustainably. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication studies from the University of Roma Tre and is about to start a master’s degree in European studies at the University of Gothenburg. She is passionate about history, philosophy, and politics. She also loves learning languages and can speak Italian and English fluently; she is currently learning Spanish and French. In her free time, she likes watching movies and TV shows as well as reading novels — always with a good cup of coffee in hand.

Related Posts

Torres Strait Islands
Climate Change

Australian Court Rules Against Indigenous Islanders in Publicized Climate Case

July 18, 2025
Brazil’s Carbon Credit Schemes Linked to Illegal Logging
Business

Brazil’s Carbon Credit Schemes Linked to Illegal Logging

July 18, 2025
refuse-derived fuel
Business

This Fuel Is 50% Plastic — and It’s Slipping Through a Loophole in International Waste Law

July 16, 2025
Next Post
Paris Fashion Week: Can Glamour Meet Sustainability?

Paris Fashion Week: Can Glamour Meet Sustainability?

Recent News

Your Guide to Becoming a Top-Level Graphic Designer in the Age of AI

Your Guide to Becoming a Top-Level Graphic Designer in the Age of AI

July 18, 2025
Torres Strait Islands

Australian Court Rules Against Indigenous Islanders in Publicized Climate Case

July 18, 2025
Brazil’s Carbon Credit Schemes Linked to Illegal Logging

Brazil’s Carbon Credit Schemes Linked to Illegal Logging

July 18, 2025

Impakter informs you through the ESG news site and empowers your business CSRD compliance and ESG compliance with its Klimado SaaS ESG assessment tool marketplace that can be found on: www.klimado.com

Registered Office Address

Klimado GmbH
Niddastrasse 63,

60329, Frankfurt am Main, Germany


IMPAKTER is a Klimado GmbH website

Impakter is a publication that is identified by the following International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is the following 2515-9569 (Printed) and 2515-9577 (online – Website).


Office Hours - Monday to Friday

9.30am - 5.00pm CEST


Email

stories [at] impakter.com

By Audience

  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & MACHINE LEARNING
    • Green Tech
  • ENVIRONMENT
    • Biodiversity
    • Energy
    • Circular Economy
    • Climate Change
  • INDUSTRY NEWS
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
    • Editorial Series

ESG/Finance Daily

  • ESG News
  • Sustainable Finance
  • Business

Klimado Platform

  • Klimado ESG Tool
  • Impakter News

About Us

  • Team
  • Global Leaders
  • Partners
  • Write for Impakter
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

© 2025 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • FINANCE
    • ESG News
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Business
  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Green Tech
  • Environment
    • Biodiversity
    • Climate Change
    • Circular Economy
    • Energy
  • Industry News
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
  • Editorial Series
    • SDGs Series
    • Shape Your Future
    • Sustainable Cities
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
  • About us
    • Company
    • Team
    • Global Leaders
    • Partners
    • Write for Impakter
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy

© 2024 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.