WORLD ENERGY TRANSITIONS OUTLOOK
2.9 POLICIES FOR A JUST ENERGY TRANSITION
A broad set of policy measures are required to avoid a rise over 1.5°C and align short-term actions with longer-term climate and socio-economic development objectives. Governments have a crucial role in placing the world on a 1.5°C trajectory and advancing a just energy transition. The transition discourse often defines governments’ primary responsibility as creating an enabling environment for private investments through predictable and stable policies and de-risking public financing tools. In fact, a much broader set of policy measures is required to facilitate the adoption of the entire spectrum of energy transition solutions needed to achieve the 1.5°C target and align short-term actions with longer-term climate and socio-economic development objectives. In addition to the specific policies and measures needed to support the various technological avenues discussed above, a broad policy framework is required for a just energy transition and its interaction with the main system layers of energy, society, the economy and the planet – as shown in Figure 3.1. This comprehensive framework includes a host of cross-cutting enabling policies, structural and just transition policies to address potential misalignments that may arise, and a holistic global policy framework to strengthen international collaboration.
2.9.1 Cross-cutting enabling policies As discussed in Section 1.3 of Chapter 1, countries worldwide need to be increasingly ambitious in their pledges to scale up renewables and cut energy-related greenhouse gas emissions while reaping significant socio-economic benefits. NDCs are still collectively insufficient to achieve the 1.5°C goal and need to be more ambitious. Net zero targets are not immediately feasible for all economies. In addition, for commitments and net zero pledges to materialise, they need to be translated into national laws and short-term policies and measures that are part of a robust long-term policy framework combining various aspects, including deployment policies and financing. Moreover, targets in national legislation and NDCs should go beyond the power sector and cover end-use sectors – heating/cooling and transport – to accelerate the pace and depth of the transition. Targets must also consider energy transition solutions and technologies such as green hydrogen.
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