2023 renewables use sets record 

• Travel, vacation spend hits $4trn in 5yrs 

PHILLIP ISAKPA IN LONDON, UK

Two sets of global data just released and seen by Business a.m. show how records are being shattered in the deployment of renewables for power generation that would put smiles on the faces of advocates against the use of fossil fuel; and also in peoples’ quest for pleasure through vacation leisure and travels in the aftermath of Covid-19.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), releasing its report, “Renewable Capacity Statistics 2024”, said a new record was set last year in renewables deployment in the power sector when total capacity reached 3,870 Gigawatts (GW) worldwide.

According to IRENA, renewables accounted for 86 percent of capacity additions with an expansion of 473 GW described as a new benchmark. It also stated that the growth in renewables deployment last year was not evenly distributed across the world, “indicating a trend far from the tripling renewable power target by 2030.”

Francesco La Camera, director general, IRENA, commenting on the development said: “This extraordinary surge in renewable generation capacity shows that renewables are the only technology available to rapidly scale up the energy transition aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Nevertheless, the data also serves as a telltale sign that progress is not moving fast enough to add the required 7.2 TW of renewable power within the next seven years, in accordance with IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook 1.5°C Scenario.

“Policy interventions and a global course-correction are urgently needed to effectively overcome structural barriers and create local value in emerging markets and developing economies, many of which are still left behind in this progress. The patterns of concentration in both geography and technology threaten to intensify the decarbonisation divide and pose a significant risk to achieving the tripling target,” he added.

And a moment away from renewables now, humans are spending a lot on travelling and vacationing, another data just released shows. Nearly $4 trillion has been spent by the world’s people globally on travels and vacation in five years, precisely $3.95 trillion shows data compiled by Stocklytics.

Humans are spending hundreds of billions of dollars each year travelling and vacationing with estimates showing that in 2024 global travel and tourism revenues are expected to rise 8.3 percent to reach $930 billion, the highest figure in  the market’s history. 

The high travel and vacation spend is despite the fact that it has taken four years for the global tourism sector to fully recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. We will return later to see where all the money is going.

Back to record renewable deployment, Asia led the 473 GW renewable expansion, accounting for 69 percent with 326 GW with the growth driven by China whose capacity increased by 63 percent at 297.6 GW.

According to IRENA, Asia as well as China’s expansion reflects “a glaring gap with other regions, leaving a vast majority of developing countries behind, despite massive economic and development needs.”

For instance, in Africa, although there was some growth it was insignificant in comparison with an increase of 4.6 percent, reaching a total capacity of just 62 GW.

According to an IRENA statement, in China, solar and wind increasing competitiveness against coal and gas power generation became the key driver of renewable power development. 

In the Eurozone, enhanced policy focus and heightened energy security concerns have become the main catalysts for the rapid growth, apart from the increasing cost-competitiveness of renewables against fossil fuel alternatives, IRENA stated.

Other regions that saw significant expansion were the Middle East at 16.6 percent increase and Oceania at 9.4 percent increase. The G7 countries as a group increased by 7.6 percent, adding 69.4 GW last year. The G20 nations on the other hand increased their capacity by 15 percent, reaching 3084 GW by 2023. However, for the world to reach over 11 TW for the tripling target requires the G20 members alone to reach 9.4 TW of renewable power capacity by 2030.

It observed that with solar energy continuing to dominate renewable generation capacity expansion, the report underscores that the growth disparity did not only affect geographical distribution but also the deployment of technologies, noting that solar accounted for 73 percent of the renewable growth last year, reaching 1,419 GW, followed by wind power with 24 percent share of renewable expansion.

According to the report, IRENA’s 1.5°C Scenario recommends a massive scaling up of financing and strong international collaboration to speed up the energy transition, putting developing countries as key priority. “Investments are needed in power grids, generation, flexibility and storage. The pathway towards tripled renewable power capacity by 2030 requires a strengthening of institutions, policies and skills,” it added.

Returning to the record breaking humans’ spending on travel and vacation, almost half of the total spending went to hotels with a five year revenue of $1.85 trillion.

The report noted that before the Covid-19 pandemic, the global tourism sector had seen almost uninterrupted growth for decades, with hundreds of billions of dollars spent on hotels, cruises, vacation rentals, and package holidays each year. 

But 2020 and 2021 brought the steepest revenue drop the market had ever seen; and three years later, the entire sector has fully recovered, although still vulnerable to global economic conditions. 

The impressive five-year figure posted for 2018-2023 is described as being even more interesting considering that over $840 billion was spent in 2020 and 2021 when the market was down.

According to the data, hotels brought far more money than any other market segment in the past five years. The report notes that since 2018, people worldwide have spent more than $1.85 trillion on hotel vacations, almost 45 percent more than on package holidays, and more than on camping, cruises, and vacation rentals combined. “Package holidays ranked as the second-largest revenue stream, with $1.28 trillion in five-year spending. As the third-largest revenue stream, vacation rentals saw only one-third of that figure, or $448 billion in the past five years. Far below, camping and cruises follow with $240 billion and $113 billion in revenue, respectively,” it stated.

Amongst the people of the world, data shows that Europeans spent the most on vacation and travelling with over $1,2 trillion recorded in their names.

According to the details of the data made available, between 2018 and 2023, the residents of the old continent have spent a whopping $1.2 trillion on vacation and travelling, almost 40 percent more than Americans and twice more than Chinese. Americans were the only nation close to Europeans in total spending, with $917.7 billion spent on vacation and travel since 2018. China, the world’s second-largest nation, is far below these figures. Statistics show that the Chinese have spent $666 billion on travelling and vacation in the past five years, almost 30 percent less than Americans and nearly twice less than Europeans