Our Approach

The urgency and scale of this challenge demand a global effort that addresses the system as a whole. Anything less will not be enough. This will require robust, locally-led campaigns in the countries with the highest current and projected emissions, paired with investments in diplomacy, corporations and the financial system to remove barriers and accelerate progress globally. All of these efforts must be tightly coordinated around a shared vision for the transition that we need.

Exponential expansion of renewable energy around the world faces a range of barriers.

In response ReNew2030 has established a range of strategic levers to drive change.

Barriers

Insufficient government ambition and action:

National and multilateral targets and plans are not ambitious enough, lack detail and omit considerations of equity and justice.

Not enough investment:

To stay below 1.5°C clean energy investments must reach trillions annually by 2030, and markets will only get us part of the way there.

Slow public acceptance and permitting:

Permitting delays are slowing the transition and insufficient consultation with communities creates public opposition and project delays.

Misinformation about renewable energy:

Cutting edge information and communication about renewables is not accessible and widespread, myths on cost and reliability are still pervasive.

Sub-scale support for the workforce transition:

Training for workers in the renewable energy space is critically needed, alongside re-skilling for those working in coal and gas industries.

The urgency and scale of this complex challenge demand a global effort that addresses the system as a whole, through a range of strategies that move governments, businesses and society to action. Anything less will not be enough.

Levers

In response to these barriers to adoption, ReNew2030 has defined seven levers to drive at national and trans-national level:

1. Government policy, advocacy and research:

We combine “inside track” technical assistance for governments with “outside track” advocacy, often using our own data, analysis and research to advocate for more ambitious government commitments.

2. Strategic litigation:

We file lawsuits to change policy, including to remove legal barriers for renewables and to delay or stop coal and gas projects.

3. Strategic diplomacy:

We engage political leaders through diplomatic channels, coalition building, embassy engagement and other forms of international cooperation to influence government-to-government action.

4. Financial system mobilization:

We advocate for innovative climate finance policies while pushing financial institutions and regulators away from fossil investments and into renewables. We do this through data sharing, risk analysis and by creating public and investor pressure.

5. Corporate sector mobilization:

We push corporate leaders to demand clean energy by engaging them through trade associations, business forums and corporate lobbying, and provide analysis and technical assistance to help them set and achieve clean energy goals.

6. Grassroots organizing and campaigns:

We mobilize local communities and people-powered movements, equipping them with the key arguments that help them win local discussions to create pressure to shift to clean energy.

7. Strategic narrative:

We raise public awareness and support for renewables through investigative journalism, opinion articles and digital campaigns, creating a drumbeat of stories on the clean energy transition.

The role of partnerships

Partnerships across a range of civil society organizations, and with business, have a vital role to play in determining the rate of deployment of renewable energy globally. Philanthropy supported regional climate foundations and organizations can provide the back-bone to ensure those partnerships flourish. ReNew2030 will:

Help to unlock trillions of dollars for the power transition.

When it comes to renewables, a partnership approach is uniquely positioned to help inform the policy environment, which in turn leverages both public and private investment. In the UK, for example, the government has invested £540 million into its Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, its cornerstone mechanism for supporting private-led investment into renewable capacity. Since the scheme was introduced in 2015, the private sector has followed and invested £50 billion into renewables projects. This is an example of a sustained multi-year effort that led to policy change that led to investment at scale.

Help to drive essential systems-change work.

Systems change work will be a necessary driver for the power transition globally. Philanthropy is a large source of systems-level funding for climate change, and is uniquely positioned to work across government, business and society. It can be catalytic and fund the critical work that cannot be funded by other sources.

Help to put justice and equity at the heart of the transition.

Working together we can enable a fair energy transition, ensuring that the needs of vulnerable and most-affected communities — including fossil fuel workers and communities — stay front and center, and that the benefits of clean energy are extended to all. ReNew2030 will pay particular attention to addressing the historical funding imbalance between the Global North and South and will support interventions to deliver a just transition across regions, including programs to ensure people-centered principles on issues of land-use and permitting, critical minerals extraction, industrial supply chains and development and transition finance are embedded into all of our work.

Our approach is to accelerate the global transition to wind and solar power over the next 5 years