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The World Meteorological Organization released a report on the 11th that the global electricity supply from clean energy must be doubled in the next 8 years to effectively limit global warming; otherwise, due to factors such as climate change, increasing extreme weather and water shortages, global energy security may be got damage.

According to the WMO report “The State of Climate Services 2022: Energy”, as extreme weather events around the world become more frequent and severe, climate change is posing risks to global energy security, directly affecting fuel supply, energy production and current and Resilience of future energy infrastructure.

The energy sector is responsible for about three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions, and emissions reduction targets will only be achieved by more than doubling the supply of low-emission electricity over the next eight years, said WMO Secretary-General Petri Taalas. He called for increased use of solar, wind and hydroelectric power.

The report pointed out that the global energy supply is largely dependent on water resources. In 2020, 87% of the world’s electricity from thermal, nuclear and hydroelectric power systems is directly dependent on the amount of water available. During the same period, 33% of thermal power plants cooled by fresh water were located in areas with high water scarcity, as were 15% of existing nuclear power plants, and this proportion is expected to increase to 25% of nuclear power plants in the next 20 years. The transition to renewable energy will help ease the world’s growing water stress, as solar and wind power use far less water than traditional fossil fuel and nuclear power plants.

The report specifically recommends that renewable energy should be vigorously developed in Africa. Africa is facing severe impacts such as widespread drought caused by climate change, and the falling cost of clean energy technologies has brought new hope for Africa’s future. Only 2% of clean energy investment over the past 20 years has been in Africa. Africa has 60% of the world’s best solar resources, but only 1% of the world’s installed PV capacity. In the future African countries have the opportunity to seize the untapped potential and become a major player in the market.