01: To reach net zero clean energy technologies must be stepped up
The massive increase in the deployment of clean energy needed for the world to achieve net zero is predicated on an unprecedented acceleration in the scaling up of related supply chains. The next decade will be critical. Any delays in rolling out solar PV, EV and hydrogen technologies will mean that reaching net zero by mid-century will become increasingly more difficult.
In the IEA’s Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario, the electricity sector is the first to achieve net zero emissions, mainly because an array of renewable and other clean energy technologies are already available on the market. Solar PV, which has seen record growth over the last few years (solar generation increased by 26% in 2021, up from the previous record of 23% in 2020) accelerates in the coming years, increasing nine-fold by 2030 and almost a 30-fold by 2050 compared with 2020 levels.
This would require a sustained increase in the production of PV modules and related components and raw materials. Sales of EVs also continue to surge in the next few years, driving up both the need to generate electricity and the need for materials and components to make batteries.
Hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels – another key pillar of decarbonisation – take off during the 2020s, calling for new and expanded supply chains for electrolysers and CO2 capture, transport and storage infrastructure.
