https://www.irena.org/News/pressreleases/2026/Oct/Electrification-with-R...
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 13 October 2026 – Accelerating electrification powered by renewables must be a priority for the decade to 2035. A genuine energy transition means progressively displacing fossil-fuel systems, not simply adding new power capacity to an unchanged energy mix.
Electrification with renewables, combined with more efficient technologies and sustainable fuels, can drive this shift by scaling clean power, unlocking energy efficiency gains, and meeting rising energy demand.
The 2026 World Energy Transition Outlook (WETO) released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) today sets out urgent energy system reforms to realign the global energy transition with the 1.5°C-compatible pathway following the current overshoot of temperature caused by carbon emissions.
While renewable additions continue to set records in 2025, grid enhancements fail to keep pace, and energy demand keeps surging rapidly. Furthermore, energy efficiency improvements remain significantly below the required rate and fail to offset the growing power demand.
Consequently, electrification and renewables must accelerate dramatically. Global installed renewable power would need to grow from 5.2 terawatts (TW) today to around 38.2 TW by 2050, while electricity’s share of final energy consumption rises to 35% by 2035 and over 50% by 2050. More than 80% of electricity would be supplied by solar and wind by mid-century.
In addition, without scaling up energy efficiency, grids, storage and system flexibility, these critical cornerstones risk becoming bottlenecks to the global energy transition.
Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA said: “The global energy transition is under stress. Record growth in renewables is not enough on its own: energy efficiency is falling short, grids are struggling to keep pace, and global energy demand continues to surge. We cannot deliver the transition by simply adding renewables to an unchanged energy system. We need reforms to build the infrastructure of a new energy system — one that is electrified, efficient, flexible and powered by renewables.”
He added: “Electrification, grids, storage, flexibility and energy efficiency are not merely supporting elements at the margins of this transformation; they are its backbone. The central question is how rapidly we can deploy these solutions together, at the scale required to keep the transition aligned with 1.5°C while ensuring energy security, affordability, competitiveness and broader social acceptance.”
WETO 2026 also points to a strong economic case. Under IRENA’s 1.5° C scenario, the world’s economy would grow by 1.1% every year above business as usual, translating into cumulative gains for societies of around USD 46 trillion by 2050.
Renewable energy jobs could rise more than fivefold over the same period, up from just over 16 million today. And as emerging electricity markets become more cost-competitive, a respective electricity competitiveness could lead to 15% lower end-user power prices by 2050.
But delivering the transition would require a significant increase in investment. Whilst the main driver for these gains, cumulative annual investment would have to reach around USD 10.3 trillion between 2026-2050, with most additions in renewable power, grids, flexibility and end-use electrification.
“The quality of the transition will matter as much as its speed,” La Camera continued. “Our analysis shows that accelerated decarbonisation can strengthen investment, productivity, employment and welfare. Affordability, social protection and fair access to economic opportunities must be built into implementation from the outset to sustain public acceptance and ensure that the benefits of the transition are broadly shared.”
The central task for governments is therefore to manage the transformation in an orderly way that safeguard reliability, affordability and energy security while accelerating the deployment of clean alternatives.
The new report sets an actionable agenda and identifies seven priorities for action over the coming decade, from integrated energy and market planning and country-tailored roadmaps to modernising grids, strengthening industrial and investment strategies, advancing social and environmental policies to maximise benefits and deepening international cooperation.
Policy makers have a critical responsibility to steer the transition. If well managed, the transition away from fossil fuels can support, rather than constrain economic development by boosting competitiveness, resilience, public health, and long-term prosperity.
Read World Energy Transition Outlook 2026. The 1.5°C Pathway
