Electrification with Renewables Holds Key to World’s Energy Needs

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World Energy Transition Outlook calls for system-wide reforms and sets actionable agenda for secure, affordable, and competitive energy in this decade and beyond

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.

Source: International Renewable Energy Agency