G-7’s failing renewables commitment, pushing fossil fuel in Bangladesh, beyond: Report

The richest nations, including the G-7 countries, are failing to uphold their commitments to global renewable energy expansion. Instead, they are increasingly investing in fossil fuel projects in developing countries like Bangladesh, obstructing global carbon emission reduction targets, according to a report by Global Energy Monitor (GEM).

The report showed global solar and wind power capacity grew by one-fifth last year. However, G-7 countries contributed very little to this new capacity, despite their commitments to facilitate renewable energy investments in climate-vulnerable countries like Bangladesh, read a press release issued today (11 February).

GEM highlights that instead of prioritising renewable energy projects in Bangladesh — one of the most climate-vulnerable countries — wealthy nations are increasing investments in polluting energy sources like LNG and coal.

In 2023, Japan formulated the finalisation of the fossil fuel-dependent Integrated Energy and Power Master Plan (IEPMP), which largely overlooked promising sectors like solar and wind energy.

The Global Solar Power Tracker and Global Wind Power Tracker include all projects that have been announced, entered pre-construction or are currently under construction for solar capacity over 1 megawatt (MW) and utility-scale wind capacity over 10 MW.

During 2024, prospective utility-scale solar and wind capacity grew to 4.4 Terawatt (TW). Utility-scale solar and wind are largely equal in their prospective development, with 2 TW and 2.5 TW, respectively.

According to the report, China currently leads in potential solar and wind power capacity, surpassing 1.3 TW, which accounts for more than one-fourth of the global total. Following China, other top countries include Brazil (417 gigawatts), Australia (372 GW), the United States (218 GW), and Spain (144 GW).

India has set a goal to generate nearly 130 GW of solar and wind power in the coming years, with 35 GW expected to be added to the grid by March 2025. Over the past year, India's large-scale solar and wind capacity has increased by 50%, indicating substantial investment in the renewable energy sector, according to the report.

In contrast, G-7 countries — despite representing 45% of the global GDP — are currently constructing only 59 GW of solar and wind power projects, a significantly smaller figure compared to China and the global total of 416 GW.

GEM report also shows that outside China, the construction of solar and wind projects has slowed. Currently, only 226 GW (7% of the total potential capacity) is under construction. If renewable energy projects fail to be implemented on time, the goal of tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030, set during COP28, may be jeopardised.

As of December 2023, 185 GW of solar and wind projects were expected to become operational in 2024. However, globally, only 59% of these projects have started generation as scheduled.

Despite their relatively low share in total renewable energy capacity, G-7 countries have a higher success rate in completing projects on time. At least 76% of their solar and wind projects have been commissioned on schedule, compared to 55% in China and 52% in other countries.

Diren Kocakuşak, research analyst for GEM, said, "The growth of wind and solar in the last year is promising, but the world needs to pick up the pace and bring these projects online much faster. Addressing barriers like limitations on the physical grid, permitting bottlenecks, and lack of financing can help bring us closer to tripling renewables capacity and limiting the worst impacts of a changing climate."