List of Abbreviations

AC
Alternating current
AfDB
African Development Bank
AUD
Australian dollar
BNEF
BloombergNEF
BRICS
Brazil, Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa
CDM
Clean Development Mechanism
CHP
Combined heat and power
CNY
Chinese yuan
CO2
Carbon dioxide
COP24
Conference of the Parties, 24th meeting
CSP
Concentrating solar thermal power
DC
Direct current
DFI
Development finance institution
DHC
District heating and cooling
DOE
US Department of Energy
DREA
Distributed renewables for energy access
EC
European Commission
EJ
Exajoule
EMEC
European Marine Energy Centre
EPA
US Environmental Protection Agency
ESCO
Energy Service Company
ETS
Emissions Trading System
EU
European Union (specifically the EU-28)
EV
Electric vehicle
FAME
Fatty acid methyl ester
FIT
Feed-in tariff
G20
Group of Twenty
GDP
Gross domestic product
GSR
Global Status Report
GW/GWh
Gigawatt/gigawatt-hour
GWth
Gigawatt-thermal
HEFA
Hydrotreated esters and fatty acids
HVO
Hydrotreated vegetable oil
ICE
Internal combusion engine
IEA
International Energy Agency
IEA PVPS
IEA Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme
IEA SHC
IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme
IFC
International Finance Corporation
IHA
International Hydropower Association
INDC
Intended Nationally Determined Contribution
INR
Indian rupee
IOU
Investor-owned utility
IPCC
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IPP
Independent power producer
IRENA
International Renewable Energy Agency
IT
Information technology
ktoe
Kilotonnes of oil equivalent
kW/kWh
Kilowatt/kilowatt-hour
kWth
Kilowatt-thermal
LCOE
Levelised cost of energy (or electricity)
LPG
Liquefied petroleum gas
m2
Square metre
m3
Cubic metre
MJ
Megajoule
MSW
Municipal solid waste
Mtoe
Million tonnes of oil equivalent
MW/MWh
Megawatt/megawatt-hour
MWth
Megawatt-thermal
NDC
Nationally Determined Contribution
O&M
Operations and maintenance
OECD
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
P2G
Power-to-gas
PAYG
Pay-as-you-go
PERC
Passivated Emitter Rear Cell
PHEV
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle
PJ
Petajoule
PPA
Power purchase agreement
PPP
Purchasing power parity
PTO
Power take-off device
PV
Photovoltaic/photovoltaics
R&D
Research and development
REC
Renewable electricity certificate
RED
EU Renewable Energy Directive
RFS
US Renewable Fuel Standard
RPS
Renewable portfolio standard
SDG
Sustainable Development Goal
SEforALL
Sustainable Energy for All
SHIP
Solar heat for industrial processes
SHS
Solar home system
TES
Thermal energy storage
TFC
Total final consumption
TFEC
Total final energy consumption
TW/TWh
Terawatt/terawatt-hour
UAE
United Arab Emirates
UN
United Nations
UNEP
United Nations Environment
UNFCCC
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
USD
United States dollar
V2G
Vehicle-to-grid
VAT
Value-added tax
VC/PE
Venture capital and private equity
VRE
Variable renewable energy
W/Wh
Watt/watt-hour