Urban Renewable Energy on the Upswing: A Spotlight on Renewable Energy in Cities in REN21’s “Renewables 2019 Global Status Report”

TLDR

The Renewables Global Status Report 2019 compiles up‑to‑date global and regional trends in renewable energy adoption, highlighting that while policies focus mainly on power, urban areas—home to over half the world’s population and two‑thirds of energy use—are increasingly pivotal. The report aims to emphasize the need to prioritize urban renewable energy to achieve more sustainable energy supply and consumption. The report analyzes renewable energy policies and examines the urban context through a dedicated feature on city‑level renewable energy. The report finds that renewable investment now concentrates in developing and emerging economies, cities are leading adopters, and over 100 cities—both developed and developing—already generate at least 70 % of their electricity from renewables.

Abstract

Published in June 2019, the new edition of the annually updated Renewables Global Status Report (GSR) compiles the most recent developments and trends in the adoption of renewable energies worldwide and in specific regions, countries and sectors. The report represents a rich resource for reliable and up-to-date information about individual renewable energy sources and their use. The analysis also covers a review of energy policies. Renewable energy policies still strongly concentrate on the power sector, while transport and heating and cooling are given less attention. Most investment in renewable energy today happens in developing and emerging countries, which is a major change to the situation some years ago. The 2019 edition of the GSR report includes a feature on renewable energy in cities, which highlights the importance of prioritising the urban context in order to achieve more sustainable schemes of energy supply and consumption. More than half of the global population today lives in cities, but around two-thirds of energy consumption happens in an urban environment. The GSR 2019 identifies that cities already are among the most active players in the adoption of renewable energies. One interesting finding is that in more than 100 cities worldwide at least 70% of the electricity already comes from renewables. This includes cities in both developed and developing countries.