The energy world was set to change significantly by 2030, based on the current policy settings, which included almost 10 times as many electric cars on the road worldwide, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday. 

According to the IEA’s new World Energy Outlook 2023, the share of renewables in the global electricity mix would reach 50 per cent by 2030 from the current 30 per cent. 

“The transition to clean energy is happening worldwide and it’s unstoppable. It’s not a question of if, it’s just a matter of how soon – and the sooner the better for all of us,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. 

The investment in new offshore wind projects would go up by three times by 2030 in new coal- and gas-fired power plants, the report mentioned. 

Renewables are set to contribute 80 per cent to new power-generation capacity by 2030 under current policy settings, with solar power alone accounting for more than half of this expansion, according to the report. 

“If countries deliver on their national energy and climate pledges on time and in full, clean energy progress would move even faster. However, even stronger measures would still be needed to keep alive the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius,” the IEA report mentioned. 

The combination of growing momentum behind clean energy technologies and structural economic shifts around the world has major implications for fossil fuels, with peaks in global demand for coal, oil and natural gas all visible this decade.