Building Confidence For The G20 Renewables Market Through Strategic Policy Reforms

In the face of pressing challenges of climate change and energy crises, the transition to sustainable energy sources is imperative and inevitable. The world acknowledges this need as exemplified at COP28, where all Parties unanimously adopted the Global Stocktake that vowed to triple installed renewable capacity by 2030. However, efforts to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy, especially wind and solar power, are hindered by market uncertainty. Currently, market perception in the wind and solar industry is hampered by the lack of clarity in time and costs associated with project development. This sends a negative signal, especially to emerging economies that are more susceptible to fluctuations in the global market and financial uncertainties and require stronger market confidence. In this context, G20 countries can, and must, play an exemplary role in improving market confidence by removing inefficient regulatory barriers and creating a unified market signal for renewables in both the Global South and North. This policy brief aims to address the need for improving renewable energy (henceforth RE) market conditions to advance sustainable energy transition within the G20 countries and globally. The brief will highlight practices and propose market-based and policy recommendations for the G20 nations to demonstrate leadership in fast-tracking the deployment of renewables at scale by streamlining the planning, siting, and permitting to reduce time and costs while increasing the social and economic benefits.