A race against time and against ourselves. Against the dangerous idea that we can’t do this, that there is no way.
Unlike most races, it won’t have one winner. In this race we all win, or we all lose. Winning it requires a radical, unprecedented level of collaboration, from all corners of our world. From our cities, businesses, regions and investors. From people everywhere.
Together we’ll be racing for a better world. A zero carbon and resilient world. A healthier, safer, fairer world. A world of wellbeing, abundance and joy, where the air is fresher, our jobs are well-paid and dignified, and our future is clear.
To get there we need to run fast, and get faster. We need more and more people to join the race, and right now. This is not about 2050, it’s about today.
Together, we can do this. And we’re already on our way.
The SDG7 Global Roadmap outlines how the world can move to clean energy by 2030, as part of the journey to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
Clean energy is energy from sources that don’t pollute the atmosphere, like solar or wind power.
“Close to 760 million people still lack access to electricity,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at the launch of the Global Roadmap. “Some 2.6 billion people lack access to clean cooking solutions. And how we produce and use energy is the main cause of the climate crisis.”
2025 milestones. Image: UN SDG7 Global Roadmap
Global Roadmap goals
Four years from now – by 2025 – the goal is that 500 million more people will have access to electricity, while 1 billion more people will be able to access clean cooking solutions.
To achieve this, $35 billion and $25 billion needs to be invested into improving access to electricity and clean cooking, respectively.
By 2025, the roadmap also calls for subsidies for fossil fuel consumption to be re-directed towards renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The world’s annual investment in renewables and energy efficiency must double over the same time frame.
The UN also wants to see 30 million jobs created in renewable energy and energy efficiency by 2025, doubling to 60 million jobs by 2030.
“These will help ensure an inclusive, green recovery by investing in poverty reduction, health, education and social protection,” the UN says.
2030 milestonesImage: UN SDG7 Global Roadmap
Net zero means no new coal
Before this – by the end of 2021 – the roadmap calls for no new coal power plans to be in the pipeline.
By 2030, global annual investment into renewable energy, energy efficiency and renewable energy capacity also needs to triple, it says.
The Global Roadmap aims to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 – one of 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the UN General Assembly in 2015. It pledges to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all” by 2030.
Achieving the milestones laid out in the roadmap would enable the world to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, says the UN.
Currently, the deployment of renewable energy is lagging, especially in transport, industry, heating and cooling, it adds.
And without deep decarbonization of global energy systems, the goal of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5C will quickly “fall out of reach“.
Today, at the mandated UN High-Level Event for Global Climate Action – “Racing to a Better World”- the High-Level Climate Champions, Gonzalo Muñoz and Nigel Topping, formally report to Parties on the progress made by non-state actors, and set-out the five-year plan — Improved Marrakech Partnership for Enhancing Ambition — to accelerate delivery during this decisive decade.
A new Camda declaration has been announced that represents a collaboration between key organizations and individuals working on both existing data disclosure platforms and emerging technologies that can support climate action analysis, including blockchain, satellite imagery and machine learning.
Founder and Director of Valence Solutions, Dr Gabrielle Walker helps us imagine, in parallel with rapid reductions, how we can take CO2 out of the air at the scale needed to achieve net zero in an effective, affordable and equitable way and start reversing climate change.
Real economy leaders joined Heads of State on stage at COP26 yesterday to celebrate the centrality of business, finance, and civil society to deliver the promise of the Paris Agreement.
