The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) used its 32nd Council meeting in Abu Dhabi, held from October 14 to 16, 2026, to review the global energy transition and consider priorities outlined in its World Energy Transition Outlook 2026. More than 300 government representatives and delegates attended the meeting, where discussions focused on the next phase of international energy transition efforts. The accompanying outlook identifies a central challenge: renewable energy is expanding and technology costs have fallen, but progress remains too slow and uneven to deliver the required transformation.
The report’s revised 1.5°C scenario places electrification, energy efficiency, electricity grids, energy storage and system flexibility at the heart of the transition. Renewable power, clean hydrogen and sustainable biomass are identified as supporting components. The approach highlights that adding renewable generation alone will not be sufficient. Power networks and flexibility resources must develop alongside new generation so electricity systems can accommodate changing supply and demand while maintaining reliability and affordability.
A key projection concerns electricity’s growing role in final energy consumption. Under IRENA’s scenario, electricity’s share rises from approximately 23% today to 35% by 2035 and more than 50% by 2050. Meeting that trajectory would require global renewable power capacity to reach 18.4 terawatts by 2035 and 38.2 terawatts by mid-century. These figures represent the scale of transformation envisaged by the scenario, rather than a forecast of guaranteed outcomes.
The outlook also points to a substantial investment requirement. Delivering the transition would involve more than US$256 trillion in cumulative investment and expenditure between 2026 and 2050, equivalent to around US$10.3 trillion annually. This broad requirement reflects the need to expand renewable generation while also strengthening grids, storage and flexibility, and electrifying energy use across buildings, transport and industry.
The projected changes differ across sectors. By 2050, electricity could account for around 77% of final energy use in buildings, 47% in transport and 42% in industry. Direct electrification will not suit every application, however. IRENA’s pathway retains sustainable bioenergy, renewable hydrogen and other sustainable fuels for uses where replacing fossil fuels with electricity is more difficult.
IRENA also stresses that countries will not follow an identical transition route. Its scenario estimates that electricity could make up around 64% of final energy consumption in the European Union by 2050, compared with approximately 53% in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and close to 50% in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. Different resource availability and development priorities mean that national and regional planning will be essential to translate global goals into workable energy strategies.
The report links the transition’s economic potential to how it is implemented. Under the 1.5°C-compatible pathway, average global gross domestic product could be around 1.1% higher than under current plans, generating an estimated US$47 trillion in cumulative gains by 2050. IRENA cautions that affordability, social protection, workforce skills and equitable access to new opportunities must be addressed as part of implementation. These are scenario-based estimates, not guaranteed economic results.
The Council meeting and the outlook together underline the implementation challenge facing governments: accelerate clean energy deployment while coordinating investment in networks, storage, efficiency and electrification. The report’s central message is that progress depends on an integrated energy-system transformation, shaped by each country’s circumstances, rather than renewable capacity expansion in isolation.