Report

Lighting the Path: What IPCC energy pathways tell us about Paris-aligned policies and investments

This report outlines key implications for governments and investors aiming to align their policies and investments with the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement, based on different energy pathways published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its Sixth Assessment Report, published in April 2022.

By Olivier Bois von Kursk, Greg Muttitt on June 7, 2022
  • No new oil and gas fields should be developed, and no exploration conducted in order to limit warming to 1.5°C

  • By 2030, wind and solar deployment needs to be double the forecasted estimates under current policies; additional supportive policies are necessary to enable this growth.

  • There is an urgent need to plug the yearly USD 450 billion investment gap for wind and solar.

This report shows that significant structural changes are required in the energy sector to align with pathways limiting warming to 1.5°C. The pathways consistent with the IPCC’s assessment of feasible and sustainable deployment of Carbon Dioxide Removal and Carbon Capture and Storage technologies leave no room for delayed action. The oil and gas phase-out timelines presented in this report constitute the ambition level consistent with the best estimates of the current and future capacity of mitigation technologies. Accordingly, this report presents the key implications for governments and financial institutions aiming to align their policies and investments with feasible 1.5°C pathways. Its recommendations are designed to guide the understanding of the Paris alignment, consistent with the IPCC findings, and should inform plans to strengthen and amplify policy interventions.

Report details

Topic
Climate Change Mitigation
Energy
Sustainable Finance
Focus area
Climate
Publisher
IISD
Copyright
IISD, 2022