Enhancing Renewable Energy Systems, Contributing to Sustainable Development Goals of United Nation and Building Resilience Against Climate Change Impacts

Abstract

Climate change impacts due to unprecedented rising concentrations of greenhouse gas (GHG) are intensifying and widespread, making extreme climate events more widespread, frequent, and severe. To mitigate the worst consequences of climate warming, herein it is investigated how the global community can collectively achieve a large‐scale, sustained reduction in GHG emissions, and how to effectively move away from a predominantly fossil fuel‐based economy to one dominated by renewable energy? This transition is necessary to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of United Nations (UN) to ensure resilient and healthy environment for present and future generations, especially the SDG 7 of UN, “Affordable and Clean Energy”, set up to achieve global development of modern renewable energy systems. Investment policies and patterns of developed and developing countries in transitioning to energy productions primarily from renewable sources and obstacles such as scale‐up challenges, innovations in new energy systems, policies, financing mechanisms, and implementation strategies are examined. Furthermore, a comprehensive overview of the present global status of hydropower, wind, and solar, the three most significant renewable electricity technologies, as well as their basic operating principles, costs, and potential is conducted. Hydroelectric, wind, and solar power had grown from 3429, 346, and 34 TWh yr−1 in 2010 to 4274, 1598, and 846 TWh yr−1 in 2020, a growth of about 1.25, 4.60, and 24.9 times in a decade, respectively. Strategies to achieve energy systems that are of or near net zero GHG emissions by 2050s through the deployment of renewable energy systems are also investigated.