The Case for a Wider Energy Policy Mix
in Line with theObjectives of the Paris
Agreement

The current growth trajectory of renewables is linear rather than exponential, and recent years have seen a stagnation of capacity additions (see Section 2.2). This indicates that the current renewable energy policy mix is failing to deliver. The deployment targets for renewables and the associated procurementlevels of capped auctions are far too low to meetthe objectives of the Paris Agreement. Thus, in order to achieve the required level of growth in renewables, a fundamental re- think of the current policy toolkit is needed. In previous decades, the renewable energy policy debate was frequently dominated by the debate between quota-based instruments and feed-in tariffs (in the 1990s and 2000s) and between auctions and feed-in tariffs (or feed-in premiums) in the 2010s. These dichotomies need to be overcome.

Now that renewables have become least- cost in many markets around the world, the traditional argument about needing to constrain their growth in order to protect ratepayers no longer stands: accelerating the growth of renewables can provide individuals and businesses worldwide with cheaper and cleaner energy.What is ultimately needed are policy frameworks that will simultaneously incentivize investment from all types of actors and investors, across a wide range of technologies and project sizes. This can enable a ramping up of renewables at an unprecedented rate, triggering the exponential growth needed for climate protection. In order to achieve this, a new and more diverse mix of policies will be necessary.