Renewable energy adoption reached a record high last year amid an energy crisis sparked by the Ukraine war, but most of it was concentrated in developed economies, said experts, who highlighted the importance of addressing the growing disparity.
A record 295 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity was added globally in 2022, up about 10 per cent from the year before, Irena said in a report earlier this year.
China, the EU and the US accounted for two thirds of all additions last year, the report added.
“The case for renewables no longer needs to be proven,” said Francesco La Camera, director general of the International Renewable Energy Agency, during a panel discussion at the World Investment Forum in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
The “accelerated” growth in clean energy capacity underlines its importance in addressing challenges such as energy security, fossil fuel price volatility and climate change, Mr La Camera said.
“But, we must acknowledge the disparity between developing and developed countries,” he said.
Investments in renewable energy technologies reached a record $1.3 trillion in 2022, but 85 per cent of it benefitted less than 50 per cent of the world’s population, according to the Abu Dhabi-based agency.
“The data … masks important differences.
“This reality must change significantly. Acceleration in energy deployment is needed across energy sectors and technologies,” he added.
Beata Javorcik, chief economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, said insufficient political commitment was hampering climate investments.
“Administrative and legal barriers to investment tend to be onerous because enabling regulations such as carbon pricing is often lacking,” Ms Javorcik said.
“These constraints do not allow potential returns to investment to materialise.”
Their remarks come ahead of the Cop28 climate summit in UAE where countries will assess where they stand with regards to climate goals as part of a process called the global stocktake.
Indonesia, South-East Asia’s largest economy, aims to launch its “first project” during Cop28 for the early retirement of coal power.
“We are still discussing it …[but] the finance for early retirement of coal is still not considered as green financing,” said Yudo Priaadi, director general of new renewable energy and energy conservation and Indonesia’s energy ministry.
Mr Priaadi said the lack of coal industry financing by major banks and investors impeded efforts to adopt clean coal technology and carbon capture and storage.
Indonesia, which recently started trading carbon dioxide emission credits and has set a target of reaching carbon neutrality by 2060, is lobbying hard for more flexible financing.
Transitioning away from coal, which in some provinces employs more than 10 per cent of the population, is expected to have deep social consequences.
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Watch live
The National will broadcast live from the IMF on Friday October 13 at 7pm UAE time (3pm GMT) as our Editor-in-Chief Mina Al-Oraibi moderates a panel on how technology can help growth in MENA.
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The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders
Stuart Kells, Counterpoint Press
Mobile phone packages comparison
Lexus LX700h specs
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Price: From Dh590,000
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Janet Yellen's Firsts
- In 2014, she became the first woman to lead the US Federal Reserve
- In 1999, she became the first female chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers
THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
'Shakuntala Devi'
Starring: Vidya Balan, Sanya Malhotra
Director: Anu Menon
Rating: Three out of five stars
The winners
Fiction
- ‘Amreekiya’ by Lena Mahmoud
- ‘As Good As True’ by Cheryl Reid
The Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award
- ‘Syrian and Lebanese Patricios in Sao Paulo’ by Oswaldo Truzzi; translated by Ramon J Stern
- ‘The Sound of Listening’ by Philip Metres
The George Ellenbogen Poetry Award
- ‘Footnotes in the Order of Disappearance’ by Fady Joudah
Children/Young Adult
- ‘I’ve Loved You Since Forever’ by Hoda Kotb
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RESULT
Huddersfield Town 2 Manchester United 1
Huddersfield: Mooy (28'), Depoitre (33')
Manchester United: Rashford (78')
Man of the Match: Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield Town)
Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
New process leads to panic among jobseekers
As a UAE-based travel agent who processes tourist visas from the Philippines, Jennifer Pacia Gado is fielding a lot of calls from concerned travellers just now. And they are all asking the same question.
“My clients are mostly Filipinos, and they [all want to know] about good conduct certificates,” says the 34-year-old Filipina, who has lived in the UAE for five years.
Ms Gado contacted the Philippines Embassy to get more information on the certificate so she can share it with her clients. She says many are worried about the process and associated costs – which could be as high as Dh500 to obtain and attest a good conduct certificate from the Philippines for jobseekers already living in the UAE.
“They are worried about this because when they arrive here without the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] clearance, it is a hassle because it takes time,” she says.
“They need to go first to the embassy to apply for the application of the NBI clearance. After that they have go to the police station [in the UAE] for the fingerprints. And then they will apply for the special power of attorney so that someone can finish the process in the Philippines. So it is a long process and more expensive if you are doing it from here.”
