Governments should target policy measures and public spending towards energy transformation, to stimulate economies post-coronavirus, according to a new report published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
Post-COVID recovery: An agenda for resilience, development and equality outlines an immediate stimulus action plan for the next three years for governments, as well as measures for a mid-term recovery to 2030.
The study said scaling-up public and private energy spending to $4.5tn (€3.9tn) a year would boost the world economy by an additional 1.3%, creating 19 million energy transition-related jobs by 2030.
Jobs in renewables alone could triple to 30 million by 2030, the report found.
IRENA director-general Francesco La Camera said: “Renewables have proven to be the most resilient energy sources throughout the current crisis.
“This evidence should allow governments to take immediate investment decisions and policy responses to overcome the crisis.”
“Every million dollars invested in renewables would create three times more jobs than in fossil fuels,” stated the report.
Doubling annual transition investments to $2tn over the next three years will provide an “effective stimulus and can leverage private sector investments by a factor of between three and four”, found the report.
La Camera added: “With today’s recovery plan for governments, IRENA uses its global mandate on energy transitions to inform decision-making at this critical time, while staying on course toward a fully decarbonised system by 2050.”
Commenting on the report, Aquila Capital partnerships and portfolio management head Christine Brockwell said: “Significant action and continued investment is required if we are all to achieve global decarbonisation targets.
“We’ve already seen the positive impact that European governmental policies have had on the growth of renewables in the last 10 years.
“We are encouraged that IRENA recognises the positive influence of government policies in accelerating the growth of renewables and further stimulus will benefit the low carbon transition.”