IRENA Climate Action Report 2025: Tripling Renewables, NDC 3.0 Progress, and the Road to 2030

Why 2025 Is a Defining Year for Global Climate Action

The IRENA Climate Action Report 2025 arrives at a critical inflection point in the global response to climate change. According to the World Meteorological Organization, atmospheric CO2 concentrations reached a record 423.9 parts per million in 2024, with the largest single-year increase of 3.5 ppm ever observed. Simultaneously, 2024 was confirmed as the warmest year on record, pushing the planet dangerously close to the 1.5°C warming threshold established under the Paris Agreement.

Against this backdrop, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) released its Climate Action Report 2025, a comprehensive assessment that evaluates where the world stands on renewable energy deployment, energy efficiency improvement, and the translation of global pledges into national action. The report arrives at a moment when the third cycle of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs 3.0) is underway, requiring countries to submit substantially more ambitious climate targets ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil.

Understanding the data, trends, and policy recommendations contained in this IRENA climate action report is essential for policymakers, investors, corporate sustainability leaders, and anyone seeking to grasp the true scale of the energy transition challenge. This article distills the report’s most important findings into actionable insights, covering everything from renewable capacity statistics to the emerging technologies that could accelerate decarbonization. For a deeper exploration of how major institutions are shaping climate policy, see our interactive library of sustainability reports.

The UAE Consensus: Tripling Renewable Energy Capacity by 2030

The most consequential outcome of COP28, held in Dubai in December 2023, was the adoption of the UAE Consensus—a landmark agreement that set two headline targets for the global energy transition. First, countries committed to tripling global installed renewable energy capacity to more than 11,000 GW by 2030. Second, they pledged to double the average annual rate of energy efficiency improvement to over 4% per year during the same period.

These targets are not merely aspirational. The IRENA climate action report 2025 emphasizes that achieving them requires a fundamental acceleration in the pace of deployment. In 2024, the world added 582 GW of new renewable capacity. While this represents a strong 15.1% increase over 2023, it remains well below the trajectory needed: annual additions must consistently exceed 1,000 GW per year through the remainder of the decade to reach the tripling target.

On energy efficiency, progress has been even more sluggish. The global average annual improvement in energy intensity between 2018 and 2022 was just 1.1%—roughly a quarter of the pace required. The report identifies buildings, transport, and industrial processes as the sectors with the greatest untapped potential, calling for mandatory minimum energy performance standards, updated building codes, and electrification of heating and cooling systems.

The UAE Consensus also underscored the importance of transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, tripling energy storage capacity, and accelerating the deployment of zero- and low-emission technologies. These provisions have direct implications for how countries structure their NDCs 3.0 submissions and how the international community measures collective progress at COP30.

Global Renewable Energy Growth in 2024: Record Capacity and Falling Costs

One of the most striking data sets in the IRENA climate action report 2025 concerns the pace of renewable energy deployment. Global installed renewable power capacity reached 4,443 GW at the end of 2024, following net additions of 582 GW during the year. This growth was overwhelmingly driven by solar photovoltaics, which accounted for 452.1 GW—or 77.8%—of all new capacity additions. Wind energy contributed 114.3 GW, with onshore wind continuing to dominate but offshore wind projects gaining momentum in Europe, China, and parts of Southeast Asia.

The geographic concentration of this growth is notable. China alone accounted for roughly 60% of global solar PV additions and a significant share of wind installations, reinforcing its position as the world’s largest renewable energy market. India, the United States, Brazil, and Germany rounded out the top five, though deployment rates varied significantly across regions. Africa, despite hosting some of the world’s best solar resources, accounted for less than 3% of global renewable capacity additions—a disparity the report identifies as both a challenge and an opportunity.

Cost trends continued their downward trajectory. The global weighted-average levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for new utility-scale solar PV projects fell to USD 0.043 per kilowatt-hour in 2024, with China achieving USD 0.033/kWh and India USD 0.038/kWh. Onshore wind reached a global average of USD 0.034/kWh, making it the cheapest source of new electricity generation in many markets. Offshore wind averaged USD 0.079/kWh—still higher but declining steadily as project scale increases and supply chains mature.

Battery energy storage system (BESS) costs also fell dramatically. The 2024 global average stood at USD 192 per kilowatt-hour, representing an approximately 93% decline from 2010 levels. This cost reduction is critical because storage is the key enabler for integrating higher shares of variable renewable energy into power grids without compromising reliability. To explore how organizations are communicating complex energy data more effectively, visit the Libertify interactive library for examples of interactive sustainability reports.

The Energy Transition Finance Gap: Investment Needs Versus Reality

Despite record-breaking deployment, the IRENA climate action report 2025 paints a sobering picture of the financing gap. Global energy transition investments exceeded USD 2 trillion in 2024—a new record—with solar PV attracting USD 521 billion, grid infrastructure USD 390 billion, and energy storage USD 54 billion. Electric vehicle spending, corporate power purchase agreements, and green bonds also reached new highs.

However, this level of investment falls far short of what is needed. The Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) Net Zero Scenario estimates that approximately USD 5.6 trillion per year must be invested between 2025 and 2030 to align with a pathway that limits warming to 1.5°C. That figure rises to roughly USD 7.8 trillion per year between 2036 and 2050 as the transition extends to harder-to-abate sectors such as heavy industry, aviation, and shipping.

The distribution of investment is also deeply unequal. The vast majority of energy transition capital flows to developed economies and China. Emerging and developing economies (excluding China) received less than 15% of global clean energy investment in 2024, despite being home to the majority of the world’s population and facing some of the most severe climate impacts. The report highlights that the cost of capital in many African, South Asian, and Pacific Island nations can be two to three times higher than in OECD countries, creating a structural barrier to renewable energy deployment.

IRENA calls for a fundamental rethinking of international climate finance architecture. The New Collectively Quantified Goal (NCQG) agreed at COP29 sets a mobilization target of USD 1.3 trillion per year for developing countries, but the report notes that delivery mechanisms remain underdeveloped. Concessional finance, blended instruments, currency risk mitigation tools, and capacity building for project pipeline development are all identified as critical gaps that must be addressed before COP30.

IRENA Climate Action Findings on NDC 3.0: Translating Ambition Into Plans

The third cycle of Nationally Determined Contributions represents the most important opportunity since the Paris Agreement to align national climate plans with the global targets established at COP28. As of November 2025, 104 countries had submitted their NDCs 3.0, and the IRENA climate action report 2025 provides a detailed analysis of how these submissions compare to previous rounds.

The findings are mixed. A UNFCCC review of 64 new NDCs projected aggregate emissions of 13.0 gigatons of CO2 equivalent in 2035 from the submitting countries—approximately 6% below their previous NDC targets. While this represents incremental progress, it remains far from the steep emissions reduction trajectory needed to limit warming to 1.5°C, which would require global emissions to peak before 2025 and decline by approximately 43% by 2030 relative to 2019 levels.

Several countries have set notably ambitious targets in their NDCs 3.0. The United Kingdom committed to reducing emissions by at least 81% below 1990 levels by 2035. Morocco set a conditional target of 52% renewable energy in its electricity mix by 2030. Singapore pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, with an interim target of reducing emissions to 60 MtCO2eq by 2030. Nepal included targets for clean cooking access and electric vehicle adoption alongside its renewable energy goals.

However, many major emitters had not yet submitted updated NDCs at the time of the report’s publication, and several that did failed to include quantified sectoral targets for renewables, energy efficiency, or transport electrification. The IRENA report emphasizes that NDCs 3.0 should include specific renewable capacity targets, costed implementation plans, and clear policy and regulatory roadmaps—not just economy-wide emissions reduction percentages.

Country Case Studies and Regional Climate Action Highlights

The IRENA climate action report 2025 dedicates substantial sections to regional analysis, examining how different parts of the world are progressing on the energy transition and where the greatest challenges and opportunities lie.

In Africa, renewable energy capacity grew by approximately 4.6 GW in 2024, a modest figure relative to the continent’s enormous potential. IRENA estimates that Africa could host over 7,900 GW of solar PV capacity and 460 GW of onshore wind based on resource availability alone. The primary barriers are financing, grid infrastructure, and institutional capacity. The report highlights Kenya’s geothermal program, Morocco’s Noor-Ouarzazate solar complex, and South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) as models of successful deployment, while noting that 43 African countries still lack the grid infrastructure needed to integrate large-scale variable renewables.

In Asia-Pacific, China’s dominance is unmistakable, but the report also spotlights India’s ambition to reach 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030, Indonesia’s plans for a managed coal phase-out supported by international Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs), and Vietnam’s rapid solar expansion. Japan and South Korea are pursuing offshore wind and hydrogen strategies, while Pacific Island nations are focusing on energy independence through distributed solar and battery systems.

In Europe, the European Union maintained its position as a policy leader with the Fit for 55 package, the REPowerEU plan, and ambitious national targets in Germany, Spain, and the Nordic countries. However, permitting delays, grid connection backlogs, and supply chain constraints were identified as persistent bottlenecks. The UK’s offshore wind expansion and France’s nuclear-plus-renewables strategy also receive detailed attention.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, Brazil’s vast hydropower, wind, and solar resources position it as a regional leader, while Chile’s green hydrogen ambitions and Colombia’s commitment to halting deforestation and expanding non-conventional renewables represent distinct transition pathways. The Caribbean islands face unique challenges related to grid fragility, hurricane exposure, and high fossil fuel import costs.

Policy Drivers and Enablers for Renewable Energy Deployment

The IRENA climate action report 2025 identifies a clear set of policy instruments that have proven effective in accelerating renewable energy deployment across diverse national contexts. These include competitive auctions for renewable capacity, which have driven down costs and created transparent price discovery in over 100 countries; feed-in tariffs and premiums, which remain relevant for smaller-scale and community-based projects; and corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs), which have become a major demand driver in markets where large commercial and industrial consumers can procure renewables directly.

Regulatory reforms are equally critical. The report emphasizes that streamlined permitting processes, standardized grid connection procedures, and land-use planning that anticipates renewable deployment can significantly reduce project development timelines and costs. Countries that have established one-stop-shop permitting agencies or set statutory deadlines for environmental assessments consistently outperform those where regulatory fragmentation creates delays.

Fiscal incentives—including tax credits, accelerated depreciation, and carbon pricing mechanisms—continue to play an important role, particularly in mobilizing private capital. The report notes that the US Inflation Reduction Act and the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) represent two distinct but complementary approaches: the former using subsidies to drive domestic deployment, the latter using trade policy to prevent carbon leakage and create a global floor price for emissions.

Grid modernization is identified as perhaps the single most important enabler for the next phase of the transition. As variable renewable energy penetration increases, power systems require greater flexibility through storage, demand response, interconnections, and advanced grid management technologies. The report warns that without USD 390 billion or more in annual grid investment, renewable curtailment rates will rise and the economic case for new solar and wind projects will erode in some markets.

Emerging Technologies: Storage, Green Hydrogen, EVs, and Digital Grids

Beyond established solar and wind technologies, the IRENA climate action report 2025 devotes significant attention to the emerging technologies and sectors that will determine whether the energy transition can extend beyond the power sector to decarbonize transport, industry, buildings, and agriculture.

Battery energy storage is at the forefront. With costs declining to USD 192/kWh and deployment accelerating—particularly in China, the US, and Australia—grid-scale storage is increasingly viable as a complement to solar and wind. The report estimates that global battery storage capacity needs to reach 1,500 GW by 2030 to support the tripling of renewables, compared to roughly 120 GW installed at the end of 2024.

Green hydrogen and its derivatives—including ammonia and synthetic fuels—are positioned as essential for decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors such as steelmaking, cement production, long-distance shipping, and aviation. However, the report acknowledges that green hydrogen remains at an early commercial stage, with production costs of USD 3–7 per kilogram in most regions and limited electrolyzer manufacturing capacity. Countries including Chile, Morocco, Namibia, Australia, and Saudi Arabia are developing large-scale hydrogen strategies, but final investment decisions remain scarce relative to announced project pipelines.

Electric vehicles are the most advanced transport decarbonization technology, with global EV sales exceeding 17 million units in 2024. The report notes that EV mandates and phase-out dates for internal combustion engines in the EU, UK, and several US states are driving manufacturing investment, but infrastructure gaps—particularly in fast-charging networks outside China and Europe—remain a constraint in emerging markets.

Digitalization, including artificial intelligence for grid optimization, predictive maintenance for wind turbines, smart metering, and distributed energy resource management systems, is identified as a cross-cutting enabler. The International Energy Agency and IRENA jointly emphasize that digital tools can improve grid flexibility, reduce curtailment, optimize storage dispatch, and lower operational costs across the energy system.

Clean cooking receives attention as a development and health priority. Over 2.3 billion people still rely on biomass, kerosene, or coal for cooking, with devastating consequences for indoor air quality, deforestation, and women’s economic participation. The report highlights LPG transition programs in India and electric cooking pilots in East Africa as models, while calling for dedicated climate finance to scale these interventions.

IRENA Climate Action Report 2025: Support Tools, Data, and Country Engagement

A distinguishing feature of the IRENA climate action report 2025 is its detailed accounting of IRENA’s own support activities across member states. Since 2020, the agency has engaged with 102 countries through 240 distinct activities spanning energy transition assessments, resource mapping, policy advisory services, project facilitation, and capacity building. These supported countries collectively represent over 6 billion people and approximately 31,984 megatons of CO2 equivalent in annual emissions.

IRENA’s Energy Transition Assessments (ETAs) provide countries with detailed, bottom-up analyses of their energy systems, identifying least-cost renewable deployment pathways and investment needs. The report notes that ETAs have been completed or are underway in over 40 countries, with results directly informing NDC 3.0 targets and implementation plans. For example, IRENA’s work with Colombia helped the country identify 30 GW of untapped solar and wind potential, while support to Nigeria informed its target of 30% renewable electricity by 2030.

The agency also serves as the custodian of SDG 7 tracking data and the official tracker for the global renewable capacity tripling target. Its datasets on installed capacity, generation, costs, and investment flows are among the most widely cited in the energy sector. The report emphasizes IRENA’s role in helping countries improve their own energy data collection and monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems—a foundational requirement for attracting international climate finance.

Other support areas include renewable resource assessment (solar irradiance mapping, wind atlas development), project pipeline facilitation (connecting governments with development finance institutions and private investors), and capacity building programs for energy regulators, utility managers, and government officials. The report profiles IRENA’s Climate Investment Platform, which has facilitated connections between project developers and financiers for over 1,200 clean energy projects in developing countries. See more examples of interactive government reports in the Libertify interactive library.

Actionable Recommendations for Policymakers and Investors

The IRENA climate action report 2025 concludes with a comprehensive set of recommendations that bridge the gap between global ambition and national implementation. These recommendations are directed at governments, development finance institutions, private investors, and international organizations alike.

For governments: Submit ambitious NDCs 3.0 that include quantified sectoral targets for renewable energy capacity, energy efficiency improvement rates, transport electrification, and clean cooking access. Move beyond economy-wide emissions percentages to costed implementation plans with clear policy and regulatory roadmaps. Establish or strengthen independent energy regulatory bodies, streamline permitting processes, and set statutory deadlines for project approvals.

For finance institutions: Scale up concessional and blended finance instruments that de-risk renewable energy investments in emerging markets. Develop currency hedging facilities and guarantee mechanisms that address the higher cost of capital in developing countries. Align portfolio strategies with the UAE Consensus targets and use IRENA’s country-level data to identify bankable project pipelines.

For the private sector: Accelerate corporate renewable energy procurement through long-term PPAs. Invest in supply chain diversification for solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and electrolyzers to reduce concentration risk. Engage with governments on grid modernization and storage deployment to ensure that grid constraints do not limit renewable energy uptake.

For international cooperation: Strengthen Article 6 mechanisms under the Paris Agreement to enable carbon market transactions with environmental integrity. Use the COP30 process in Belém to deliver on the New Collectively Quantified Goal for climate finance. Support South-South knowledge sharing and technology transfer, particularly for grid integration, storage, and green hydrogen production.

The report is ultimately a call for urgency. The renewable energy technologies, cost structures, and policy toolkits needed to triple capacity and double efficiency by 2030 already exist. What is missing is the speed and scale of deployment, the mobilization of finance at concessional rates for developing countries, and the political will to translate pledges into binding national policies. The window for action is narrowing, but the IRENA climate action report 2025 demonstrates that the pathway remains achievable—if countries act decisively in the years ahead.