World leaders call for investment in clean energy, developing countries ask for help

NEW YORK – World leaders called on Tuesday for much greater investment in renewable energy to tackle climate change, with developing countries saying they need financial support to make the transition.

In a speech at the Global Renewables Summit, Kenyan President William Ruto made the case for investing in renewables in Africa as part of a global commitment made at last year’s COP28 summit to triple clean energy capacity by 2030.

“Africa receives less than 50% of global investment in renewable energy, despite being home to 60% of the world’s best solar energy capacity,” Ruto said at a summit held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly

The continent is rich in resources needed for development, he said, but does not always have access to them due to its current mix of “uncertain or expensive energy.”

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley said fossil fuel subsidies outnumber renewable energy subsidies, making it more expensive for small states to develop clean energy projects.

“Small states are facing a reality that the cost of renewable energy… will likely be higher than traditional fossil fuels,” she said.

Recent reports, including that of the International Energy Agency, suggest that global renewable energy capacity could be tripled within this decade. However, these efforts will require robust regulation, including strict project permitting rules, as well as investment in building transmission and battery storage infrastructure.

Azerbaijan, which will host this year’s COP29 climate summit in November, said it plans to unite governments to make a new global commitment to increase electricity storage sixfold.

Earlier in the day, a coalition of the world’s largest companies, financial institutions and cities called Mission 2025 called on governments to adopt policies they believe could free up to $1 trillion in clean energy investment by 2030. These policies include setting new goals for generation capacity and offering tax breaks or long-term electricity contracts that would encourage investment.

“WE DID IT”

Delivering his last major speech on climate change at a forum attended by leaders of clean energy companies, US President Joe Biden celebrated the passage of a $369 billion climate bill.

“We were told it couldn’t be done, and we did it,” he said of passing the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, adding that the legislation has since encouraged innovation and created hundreds of thousands of jobs.

“Private companies have announced over $1 trillion in investments in clean manufacturing,” he said at the event. “We’re just getting started.”

Some companies and investors are excited about AI technologies for the solutions they can bring, but there are also concerns about the energy-hungry data centers needed to power them.

Artificial intelligence is “the problem and part of the solution,” Andres Głuski, CEO of US energy company AES Corporation, said in an interview with Reuters.

“With artificial intelligence, we could develop new materials that are better for batteries, better than copper,” he said.

“If we run out of manpower, artificial intelligence will help us. If we need to manage demand, artificial intelligence will help us.” REUTERS