Renewable electricity is growing because of government policies that encourage such investments and strong interest among investors who want to put money into clean energy projects, according to the report. The world this year is expected to add nearly 4 percent to its capacity to generate electricity from renewables like wind and solar, despite travel restrictions, factory closings and other obstacles caused by the pandemic. Next year, growth is expected to accelerate to around 10 percent. That is because projects disrupted by the pandemic will come online, and because governments in Europe and Asia are eager to ramp up spending to tackle climate change and to help kick-start their economies. Mr. Birol said a return to the Paris accord on climate change by the United States, as President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has pledged, could give “unprecedented positive momentum in the fight against climate change.”In an indication of the new energy landscape that is taking shape, the London-based oil giant BP said on Tuesday that it had reached a preliminary agreement with Orsted, a Danish company that is the world’s largest developer of offshore wind farms, to build a large pilot plant for generating emissions-free hydrogen.

Source: International New York Times November 10, 2020 18:35 UTC