Ren-21 executive director calls on countries to accelerate efforts towards energy transition

Director Adib made this statement during the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue online conference 2021 in Berlin, Germany.

She said energy transition efforts worldwide, shows that one billion people live in cities with a renewable energy target or policy, the number of cities that have forced partial or complete bans on fossil fuel jumped in 2020.

“It’s a tough job to turn low carbon emissions into reality in built and densely packed environments,” she said, adding that national governments must place legislative powers in the hands of local authorities.

According to her, cities must transition to renewable and set end dates for fossil fuels in all sectors, for success of cities climate strategies is to rapidly replace fossil fuels with renewable energy in heating and cooling as well as in transport.

According to the report for this year’s conference, the World Energy Transitions Outlook preview outlines a pathway for the world to achieve the Paris Agreement goals and halt the pace of climate change by transforming the global energy landscape. This preview presents options to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C and bring CO₂ emissions closer to net zero by mid-century, offering high-level insights on technology choices, investment needs and the socio-economic contexts of achieving a sustainable, resilient and inclusive energy future.