All Things Renewable

Heavy industries such as shipping, aviation, steel and aluminium account for over a quarter of global carbon emissions, yet remain among the toughest sectors to decarbonise. From the high costs of switching production processes to scaling immature technologies, the challenges are immense. IRENA's Deepti Siddhanti and Karan Kochhar from the Innovation and End-Use team examine the systemic approaches needed to decarbonise heavy i...

Road transport accounts for three-quarters of overall global transport emissions, making it a critical sector for decarbonisation. Whilst the ever-increasing amount of electric vehicles is a positive trend, the rising global demand for road transport services, especially in the developing economies, still translates into rising emissions.  

In this episode of All Things Renewable, host Daria Gazzola speaks with IRENA’s Programme Off...

Hydrogen has the potential to decarbonise heavy industry, aviation, and steel production, but significant hurdles remain. From the "chicken and egg" dilemma affecting investment decisions to bridging the cost gap with fossil-derived alternatives, the path to scale isn't simple.

IRENA's James Walker, Team Lead - Renewable Gases and Francisco Gaffaro, Team Lead - Power Sector Transformation at IRENA examine the fact...

Artificial intelligence is driving unprecedented data center expansion, with electricity demand projected to double by 2030. Can we meet this surging energy demand while maintaining the energy transition? In this episode, Adrian Gonzalez, Programme Officer - Innovation and End-use Sectors at IRENA, explores how a diversified renewable portfolio and smart grid solutions can power our AI-driven digital future sustainably.

© IRENA 2025...

From solar and wind to geothermal and bioenergy, the costs of renewable technologies have dropped dramatically over the past decade, with solar leading the surge. In 2024 the costs of renewables have stabilised. Do renewables still make business sense? In this episode, Saied Dardour, IRENA's energy cost expert, breaks down the latest findings from IRENA’s Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2024 report.

He explains how renewable...

In this episode, we take a closer look at the global progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7): ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030. Today, 666 million people, mostly in the Global South, still remain without access to electricity.

Ute Collier, Acting Director of Knowledge, Policy and Finance division at IRENA presents the latest data and tells us what it reveals about...

2024 set a new record with 582 GW of renewables added. But is it enough—and who’s being left behind? IRENA’s data experts, Nazik Elhassan and Dennis Akande, unpack the global trends shaping our clean energy future and walk us through the numbers, the methodology, and the stories hidden in the data.

This episode is for anyone who wants to understand the momentum, the gaps, and the global race to triple renewables by 2030.

© IRENA 202...

Decentralised renewable energy solutions deliver electricity in remote and rural communities. But energy access is not only about powering homes, it is about empowering lives and livelihoods and unlocking full potential of the remote communities. In this episode, host Daria Gazzola is joined by Kavita Rai, Senior Programme Officer for Energy Access at IRENA, to explore how decentralized renewable energy is reshaping lives: from pow...

In this episode, Arina Anisie, IRENA innovation expert, talks to the host Daria Gazzola about how innovation in renewable energy goes beyond technological advancements, driving sustainable growth and development globally.

This podcast was recorded on the last day of the IRENA Innovation Week, where participants discussed an array of topics from technology and systemic innovation to insights on how innovation can power sustainable g...

Due to owning and operating much of the infrastructure, utilities play a key role in modernising the grid, making it more flexible and resilient to prepare for uptake of large scale solar and wind energy. In this episode, IRENA’s Programme Officer - Partnerships, Zafar Samadov, shares insights on why utilities are uniquely positioned to drive the shift to renewables, pinpointing the challenges they face, and explains how public-pri...

The youth of today are not just passive bystanders, they are changemakers. The voices of young generations have never been heard as clearly as they are today. In this episode, Riccardo Toxiri from IRENA joins host Daria Gazzola to discuss how youth bring urgency, innovation and bold ideas to the table, shaping energy policies, spearheading impactful initiatives, and gaining recognition on the international stage. Tune in to explore...

Public funds alone cannot fund the energy transition, but they play a critical role in catalyzing private investment. In this episode, host Daria Gazzola speaks with Diala Hawila, Programme Officer, Policy Advice from IRENA about why only a fraction of global energy transition investment reaches developing economies. They discuss how policy frameworks and public financing mechanisms can catalyze private investment, and why that mod...

Many developing economies cannot fund their energy transitions without significant international investment. Yet, to obtain funding, projects need to be bankable. In this episode, Erick Ruiz Araya, Deputy Director, Project Facilitation and Support at IRENA, explains why climate finance is critical for powering the energy transition in developing countries and why bankability matters.

© IRENA 2025
Unless otherwise stated, materia...

In this episode, we explore the key challenges and opportunities in Africa's energy transition, with a focus on the Accelerated Partnership for Renewables in Africa (APRA).  How can partnerships like APRA unlock investment, drive implementation, and deliver local value?Safiatou Alzouma, IRENA’s Special Advisor on Energy Transition, Climate and Green Industrialisation, joins host Daria Gazzola to discuss what is needed to transl...