Success Nwogu 
Indications have emerged that Nigeria, South Africa, the United States, Germany and other countries of the world are not on the right track to meet the 2030 emission reduction goals.
This is according to the assertion of Wood Mackenzie, who said “no major country is on track to meet their 2030 emissions reduction goals.”
Wood Mackenzie is the global insight business for renewables, energy and natural resources. Chairman and Chief Analyst at Wood Mackenzie, Simon Flowers, said: “Net zero pledge now cover 88 per cent of annual global emissions. But no major country is on track to meet their 2030 emissions reduction goals, let alone net zero.
“Policy landscape is shifting to direct incentives and targeted support to accelerate the development of new technologies, but countries need to urgently address obstacles including permitting restrictions and constraints in the electricity supply chain.
“The supply of low-carbon energy has grown by a third since 2015, but the world’s energy demand has grown much faster with rising incomes and populations.
“The good news is that sustainability is alive and kicking, spurred on by policy including the introduction of the US Inflation Reduction Act and Europe’s REPowerEU.
“Achieving 1.5C is going to be extremely challenging, but it is possible and greatly depends on actions taken this decade.”
In its ‘Energy Transition Outlook 2023’ report, Wood Mackenzie, however, outlined that only the UK and European Union “come close to meeting the 2030 emissions reduction targets.”
The report also stated that the average annual capital expenditure needed to reach net zero will be $2.7 trillion (£2.16trn), to avoid temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees Celsius this century.
It added that of the necessary capex forecast between 2030 and 2050, 79 per cent would need to go towards “Power and renewables” while upstream oil and gas investment will account for 7 per cent.
According to it, the remaining cash will go towards the power grid, electric vehicle infrastructure, hydrogen, carbon capture utilisation and storage, and M&M.
It stated that between 2010 and 2022 average annual capex was $2trn with 57 per cent of spending going towards upstream oil and gas.
It added that renewables such as wind and solar power need to become the world’s main source of power supply to support the electrification of transport and the production of green hydrogen.
Vice President of Scenarios and Technologies Research at Wood Mackenzie, and lead author of the Energy Transition Outlook 2023 report, Prakash Sharma, said that to meet the 1.5-degree target, urgent action was required now to build low carbon power supply and infrastructure at a fast pace.
He said: “Oil and gas still have a role to play as part of a managed transition. There will be a natural depletion as low and zero-carbon options develop but supply still needs to be replenished as we move towards net zero.”