The need for a more sustainable environment with reduced carbon emissions to preserve our climate necessitates increasing the renewable mix of total electric power generation. To achieve the goals set in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, various stakeholders including governments, investors, end-users, etc. need to duly play their part. However, there is still a need for a greater understanding of the systemic factors at local and global levels amongst the various stakeholders to better realize this objective. Some countries are already meet- ing their targets while others lag. This review article presents the key systemic factors influencing the success of renew- able energy programs across national income categories. It discusses systems factors, national economies, energy capacities, and social effects, and examines the impact of policy instruments and targets on renewable energy deployment. The importance of national governments’ commitment to local targets is highlighted, along with the effects of policy development, planning, technologies, supply chains, etc.
Keywords
systemic factors, renewable energy, clean energy, energy transition, social policies, national economies, systems engineering
Introduction
Background
Renewable power is gaining traction with the increasing demand for cleaner energy as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sustainability involves improving the economy, environment, and social well- being. The contributions of renewable energy to sustain- ability by increasing its percentage are being reinforced by policies at international, national, state, and county levels. The United Nation (UN’s) SDG of “cleaner and more affordable energy” with an increased global per- centage of renewables is a major target.
This focus on increasing the global renewable energy share has set new grounds for enabling policies, technolo- gies, and investments. Currently, fossil fuels, which have environmental toxicity issues, generate a major percentage of total energy. Hertwich et al.’s (Hertwich et al., 2015) life- cycle assessment found even modern natural gas plants have higher particulate matter exposure than renewables, aligning with UN goals of increasing renewables to reduce environmental exposure.
Gielen et al. (REN21, 2024; Gielen et al., 2019) reviewed renewable energy’s role in the global energy
transformation, with solar and wind as the biggest success stories, accounting for 90% of all new renewable power up till 2024. However, current deployments are still far from achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Read More
