At Baku Energy Forum, leaders call for global action to triple renewables and modernise grids

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At Baku Energy Forum, leaders call for global action to triple renewables and modernise grids  At the Baku Energy Forum, top energy officials and CEOs addressed the urgent need for multilateral action, investment, and innovation to meet climate goals and triple global renewable energy by 2030.  In partnership with Azpromo  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/06/23/at-baku-energy-forum-leaders-call-for-global-action-to-triple-renewables-and-modernise-gri  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00Only 15% of renewable energy investments are made in developing countries,

00:05whereas that's where it's mostly needed, especially those which are not very resource rich.

00:11So if we could expand the reach of the treaty to these southern countries, it could bring benefits there.

00:19Hello and a very warm welcome to a special edition of Energy Frontiers,

00:31where you join me on the ground for the 30th edition of the Baku Energy Forum,

00:36where global energy CEOs and ministers have convened to discuss energy security, innovation and sustainability.

00:43Strong emphasis was placed on global collaboration and improved international dialogue at this year's Baku Energy Forum.

00:54Oil and gas majors and policymakers debated how to advance cross-border partnerships in both conventional and renewable energy.

01:02Calling for greater sector cooperation and transparency was the International Energy Charter,

01:07a voluntary platform for dialogue between energy producing, consuming and transit states,

01:13spanning more than 90 countries.

01:16I asked its Acting Secretary-General if the Energy Charter Treaty remains relevant today

01:21amidst growing calls for reform and concerns over its compatibility with climate goals.

01:29It's great to see you. Thank you for talking to me today.

01:32Oh, pleasure to speak to you, Rebecca.

01:34Some countries have already exited the treaty and others have announced that they're planning to.

01:39Tell me why and also what does this mean for the future of multilateral energy governance?

01:46Well, I do believe and I think it is shared belief by member countries of the treaty

01:53that especially in this age when there's a concern about the rise of unilateralism,

02:00the international cooperation and global universality is even more important.

02:06So I do think there's a value in our treaty, especially if it can be applied more to the developing energy,

02:13developing countries which are having less renewable energy investments.

02:19We have recently adopted amendments to the treaty.

02:22This happened just last December 2024.

02:27And what these amendments do is that now we cover new energy and materials such as hydrogen,

02:35ammonia, biogas, biomesan and synthetic fuels,

02:40as well as activities such as carbon capture, utilization and storage.

02:45These things didn't exist 30 years ago.

02:47I also had the chance to sit down with Gauri Singh of the International Renewable Energy Agency

02:53to find out how IRENA is facilitating the tripling of global renewable energy by 2030.

03:00Gauri, it's great to see you. Thank you for talking to me today.

03:03Pleasure. Pleasure to be here.

03:04Let me start by asking you about IRENA's facilitation of the tripling of renewable capacity by 2030,

03:12but also the doubling of energy efficiency.

03:14I imagine there's good news and there's bad news, but are we on track?

03:19Well, to put it simply, we are not.

03:22We are not on track, but there's some good news.

03:25And the good news is that we are seeing the deployment of renewables on the ground increasing year on year.

03:35Last year, we had about 585 gigawatts, which was a growth of 23 percent.

03:43And also, if you look at the investment that is now going into renewables,

03:47we did manage a substantial leap of about $100 billion, going to nearly $670 billion going into renewables.

03:59But to say if that is enough or not, I mean, unfortunately, it isn't,

04:04because we need a deployment of nearly 1,000 gigawatts.

04:10So we're still not there.

04:12And in terms of investment, we need to reach about $1.5 trillion every year

04:18to be able to make to this target of tripling of renewables

04:22and to ensure that we stay on track on our climate goals that we have set for ourselves.

04:30In terms of where we're seeing the most rapid pace of renewable deployment,

04:36we're looking to China, EU, the United States,

04:39and the cost of capital and finance that we're mentioning has a great deal to do with that.

04:43Talk to me about other potential areas of growth.

04:46Where is rising up through the ranks and what do they need to do

04:49to make sure their deployment is faster?

04:52So clearly, you know, finance, as you said, is a very important factor.

04:56So you need to have not just the quantum that flows into countries other than the EU,

05:03China, and the US, where you're seeing the bulk of the deployment.

05:07But in the emerging countries like India, in many of the Southeast Asian countries,

05:14or in Brazil, you know, you want to see not just the quantum of finance being more,

05:21but you also want to see that the cost of capital comes down.

05:24Because of the higher perceived risks, unfortunately, you know,

05:29the cost of capital is not where we'd want to see it.

05:33And, you know, for renewals, it's already a well-established business case.

05:41What's your forecast on when that might happen, though?

05:43It's much talked about.

05:44But in terms of timelines, are you able to point to when it might be realistically happening?

05:48So, I mean, I see the next decade as being very important,

05:52because that's when the foundation will be left.

05:56And it has to be a strong foundation for us to reach about zero kind of a time horizon

06:01that we've set for ourselves.

06:03And clearly, that will have to come with not just a focus on getting more renewables deployed,

06:12because that has to continue.

06:13But we need to also strengthen our grids.

06:16We need to strengthen the infrastructure around it.

06:18You mentioned grids.

06:19We know the limitations that are evident, and there's massive investment needed.

06:24And even when that investment is made, there's a long lead time, there's a long lag time.

06:28What can we do to manage that in the interim, given the challenges that we have with demand?

06:32So, as we move into a more intermittent source of supply, which the solar and wind is,

06:43then the grids have to be strengthened to be able to take this from multiple sources.

06:49The second very important aspect is that the grid operators have to understand what the future is looking like

06:58and be able to look at digitization at a very rapid scale.

07:03Khoury, talk to me about the next generation of energy leaders.

07:07Are you encouraged by the talent pool?

07:09So, I think, you know, Rebecca, I've spoken to many CEOs.

07:14And one of the things that they will all tell you is that the big challenge they see

07:19is going to be the challenge of being able to attract the right talent.

07:24We attracted nearly 50,000 applicants who wanted to be, you know, to be a part of our assembly.

07:31It makes you feel that this younger generation is really preparing themselves

07:36for the future that they know they're going to be a part of.

07:41Our energy future is in safe hands.

07:44I would certainly hope so.

07:45I certainly hope so, too.

07:47Khoury, it's been a pleasure.

07:48Thank you so much for your time.

07:49Thank you so much.

07:50Well, that is a wrap of this special edition of Energy Frontiers.

07:54I hope you enjoyed the show and I'll see you again next time.

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