According to a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), more international cooperation will be needed in order to achieve climate goals – despite headway already made in high-emission sectors.
The IEA worked with the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions to produce the Breakthrough Report. In the report, some sectors are shown to be performing better than others in the move towards 2030 net zero targets.
To encourage international cooperation for net zero, the report highlights development over the last year and issues recommendations for how countries can collaborate.
Factors included are research and development, demand creation, financial assistance, infrastructure and standards, and trade.
Through these, it is the report authors hope that energy transitions in some of the highest emitting sectors will be sped up. These sectors include road transport, steel, cement, hydrogen, power, and buildings.
According to IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, collaboration between countries is crucial to achieving international climate goals – especially for developing and emerging economies.
Additionally, the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP29 explained that governments and businesses should work together to adopt “harmonised standards” to increase market demand for clean technologies.
The report also stresses that collaboration can help make clean technologies, such as solar, more affordable by attracting investment.
Background
The release of the report coincides with Climate Week NYC. The Breakthrough Agenda, which was launched in 2021 and includes 59 countries and more than 150 initiatives, has a goal of increasing use of renewable energy over fossil fuels.
The Agenda was initially founded in Glasgow and has been supported through a partnership with the UAE via the COP28 Presidency.
It is also the hope of the authors that the recommendations featured in the report will inform policymakers attending COP29 in Azerbaijan in December. October 1 will also see the release of a report focused on agricultural progress – likely featuring agrivoltaics.
