Iran
Amid geopolitical tensions, Iran’s clean electricity transition hasn’t begun
The Islamic Republic of Iran has met its growing power demand since 2015 mainly with gas and oil generation.Around 94% of its electricity comes from fossil fuels in 2022: 79% from gas, 15% from other fossil fuels and 0.2% from coal. Hydro now makes up 4.5% and nuclear 1%.
Iran’s transition to wind and solar is significantly slower than the global average. Wind and solar account for just 0.5% of electricity production in 2022, up from just 0.05% in 2015.This was well below Asia’s average of 8% and lower than even MENA countries’ average of 2%.
Iran is yet to ratify the Paris Agreement, as of May 2023. At COP26, Iran announced that it would ratify only after sanctions against the country are lifted. According to the IEA Net Zero Emissions scenario, to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C, Iran would need to fully decarbonise its power sector by 2040 and become net-zero across its economy by 2050.
Last updated: May 2023
Progress towards 1.5C power sector benchmarks
Iran
2000–2040
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