The Strait of Hormuz crisis and the spike in fuel prices are pushing faster renewable energy deployment across the world, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a new report on Friday.
For the first time, emerging markets outside China are set to match the clean energy capacity additions in advanced economies through 2031, the agency said in its Renewables 2026 report with analysis and forecasts through 2031.
Following the Middle East crisis and the spike in fuel prices, renewables have risen to the top of the policy agenda in many countries with energy security the top priority of economies.
The heightened focus on energy security worldwide is strengthening the case for renewable energy deployment at a faster pace than before, the IEA said.
Global renewable capacity is expected to grow by almost 4,800 gigawatts (GW) in the 2026-2031 period, which would be a 57% surge compared to the previous six years. Growth in emerging and developing economies outside China is set to match that in advanced economies for the first time ever.
While emerging and developing economies outside of China expanded at half the rate of advanced economies in the 2020-2025 period, energy security concerns, supportive policies, and the growing competitiveness of wind and solar PV have raised the forecast for emerging and developing economies by almost 20% compared with the IEA’s Renewables report a year ago.
Total global onshore wind capacity is set to jump by over 70% to 2,040 GW by 2031. China’s share of global renewable capacity growth would drop from over 60% in 2025 to 53% by 2031. At the same time, India, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East will substantially increase their contributions to global renewable capacity growth due to strong policy support and renewable market development, according to the IEA.
“Previously, environmental concerns were the policy priority behind the growth of renewables, whose falling costs have made them a competitive option in many markets – but today, it’s mainly energy security that is driving renewables’ expansion as more and more countries seek to reduce their exposure to imported fuels,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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