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With 2020 just over the horizon, WRI’s 2020 NDC tracker reveals that 68 countries have indicated they will enhance the ambition or action of their NDCs next year -- but they represent only 8% of global emissions.

The Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) works towards a voluntary commitment to the Sustainable Energy For All Initiative of the UN Secretary General presented at the Rio+20. In a regional workshop, held from 25 to 27 June 2012 in Dakar, Senegal, the Directors of the ECOWAS Ministries of Energy agreed on the main targets and pillars of a regional renewable energy and energy efficiency policy of ECOWAS. The policies aim at the following objectives: Around 30% of the electricity consumption in the ECOWAS region will be saved through demand and supply side efficiency improvements by 2030. The share of renewable energy (incl. large hydro) of the total installed electric generation capacity of ECOWAS will increase to 35% in 2020 and 48% to 2030. The share of new renewable energy such as wind, solar, small scale hydro and bioelectricity (excl. large hydro) will increase to around 10% in 2020 and 19% in 2030. These targets translate to an additional 2.425 MW renewable electricity capacity by 2020 and 7.606 MW by 2030. To provide universal access to energy services it is envisaged that around 75% of the rural population will be served through grid extension and around 25% by renewable energy powered by mini-grids and stand-alone systems in 2030. By 2020 the whole ECOWAS population will have access to improved cooking facilities either through improved stoves or fuel switching to other modern forms of energy such as LPG. The share of ethanol/biodiesel in transport fuels will increase to 5% in 2020 and 10% in 2030. By 2030 around 50% of all health centers, 25% of all hotels and agro-food industries with hot water requirements will be equipped with solar thermal systems.

The renewables energy industry has again called on the government to urgently clarify its plans for low-carbon energy development after 2020, following the release of a controversial submission to the EU, which argues the bloc should abandon specific renewable energy targets post-2020.

The energy market in Germany will see dramatic changes during the next few years. With the nuclear energy capacity halved, the landscape to 2020 will look very different with renewable energy to account for 36 percent of electricity generated.

The EU should de-politicise coal by providing a solution to the related socioeconomic issues, such as the difficulties of transition in coal mining regions. T o do so, the EU should broaden the scope and change the functioning of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, to make it into a flagship EU initiative that will support European coal miners who will inevitably be affected by EU decarbonisation. By devoting 0.1 percent of its post-2020 budget to this item, the EU could facilitate the elimination of a major stumbling block on its decarbonisation pathway.

Box 1: A back-of-the-envelope calculation of the EGCF budget requirements to support the coal phase-out Europeans employed in coal mining = 216,000 (0.07 percent of total) Assuming a 50 percent phase-out between 2020-27 = 108,000 jobs to be phased out (Fair to assume that part of the remaining 50 percent will naturally retire over the period) 108,000 / 7 years = 15,430 jobs to be phased out yearly between 2020-2027 Assuming financial support of €10,000 per worker = €154 million per year Total financial requirement for the coal-item of the EGCF between 2020-27 = €1 billion

The roofs and facades of buildings across Europe could potentially generate 40% of the region’s electricity by 2020, according to the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA).

Thin - Film Photovoltaic (PV) Cells Market Analysis to 2020 - CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide) to Emerge as the Major Technology by 2020

Pike Research, who just released a report predicting that LEDs will account for almost half of the $4.4 billion commercial lighting business within the next decade.

Global solar installations will continue double-digit growth rates into the new decade, according to the new 2020 Global Photovoltaic (PV) Demand Forecast by IHS Markit (NYSE: INFO), a world leader in critical information, analytics, and solutions. The newly installed PV capacity in 2020 will reach 142 gigawatts (GW), up 14% YoY.

But a deeper analysis requested by the Guardian shows that only one in three homes, or about 10.3m households, will see the predicted reductions in their combined bills as a result of installing one or more of the renewable energy or efficiency measures, or receiving the Warm Home Discount for low-income and vulnerable households. Meanwhile the majority of bill payers, 19.1m, will see an average increase in their bills, over and above the extra costs of rising fossil fuel prices and huge investment in the electricity grid.