IEA warns world’s clear power transition is ‘too slow’

Investment in renewable power might want to triple by the tip of this decade if the world’s local weather pledges are to be met, the International Energy Agency (IEA) mentioned on Wednesday.
The IEA, which advises governments on power coverage, launched its annual World Energy Outlook (WEO) report Wednesday, simply weeks earlier than the United Nations COP26 summit in Glasgow.
The report additionally comes as energy costs surge to document ranges amid the easing of coronavirus restrictions worldwide.
The extensively watched annual outlook shapes expectations amongst governments, corporations and traders over the longer term use of coal, oil and fuel.
Critics have lengthy accused the IEA of underestimating the pace at which the world might change to renewables, thereby undermining the combat in opposition to local weather change.
But on this 12 months’s WEO report, the IEA has urged governments to strengthen commitments to chop greenhouse fuel emissions.
What did the report spotlight?
Renewable power sources, similar to photo voltaic, wind, hydropower and bioenergy, have to kind a far greater share within the rebound in power funding after the coronavirus pandemic, the Paris-based company mentioned.
“We are not investing enough to meet for future energy needs, and the uncertainties are setting the stage for a volatile period ahead,” mentioned IEA chief Fatih Birol.
The IEA famous that demand for renewables continues to develop. However, “this clean energy progress is still far too slow to put global emissions into sustained decline towards net zero” by 2050, which the IEA believes will assist restrict the rise in international temperatures to 1.5 levels Celsius (2.7 levels Fahrenheit).
The IEA additionally mentioned that the additional funding won’t be as tough because it sounds.
“More than 40% of the required emissions reductions would come from measures that pay for themselves, such as improving efficiency, limiting gas leakage, or installing wind or solar in places where they are now the most competitive electricity generation technologies,” it mentioned.
Two eventualities
The IEA analyzed two doable eventualities.
The first state of affairs appears on the measures and insurance policies that governments have already put in place. Despite the measures, annual worldwide emissions would nonetheless be the identical as growing nations construct up their infrastructure, the company mentioned.
Under this state of affairs, temperatures within the 12 months 2100 could be 2.6 C larger than preindustrial ranges.
The second state of affairs appears at governments’ pledges to realize net-zero emissions, doubtlessly doubling clear power funding over the subsequent decade.
If nations handle to implement these pledges in time, the worldwide common temperature improve could be round 2.1 C by the 12 months 2100 — an enchancment, however nonetheless effectively above the 1.5 Celsius agreed below the Paris accord, the IEA concluded.
A change of tone
Environmental activists and organizations had beforehand accused the IEA of supporting continued funding in fossil fuels.
Mans Nilsson, govt director of the environmental group Stockholm Environment Institute, advised DW that the IEA has regularly moved towards a “more distinct tone urging decision makers to mitigate climate change.”
“Traditionally, [the] IEA has been rather ‘soft’ on fossil energy and bearish on the potential of renewables. Their overly pessimistic forecasts of the development of installation costs for solar and wind have been infamous,” he added.
“This has now been rectified,” he mentioned, including that he believes the IEA appears “still too positive on oil and gas.”
“In a way, it is a shift to a more rational and realistic view on the energy transition. It is also a shift to a more activist approach, which is a trend in many multilateral [organizations],” Nilsson mentioned.
Pressure forward of COP26
Wednesday’s report signaled strain on governments to push for higher local weather motion on the COP26 summit.
Environmental group Avaaz mentioned this 12 months’s WEO is “is an important milestone in the lead up to COP26.”
Avaaz mentioned Wednesday’s report means no new oil fields for COP26 host the UK, no fuel within the Mediterranean for G20 president Italy and no coal mining for incoming G7 president Germany.
“Many governments have relied on the WEO in the past to justify their support for fossil fuels,” mentioned David Tong of the Price of Oil nongovernmental group, which advocates transitioning to scrub power.
“At COP26, [governments] will compromise their credibility if they ignore the IEA’s guidance now, when it’s finally consistent with the 1.5-degree limit they agreed to in Paris,” he advised DW.
“We need our leaders to stop listening to fossil fuel CEOs and instead follow the science. Will they back up net zero and 1.5 degree commitments with immediate action to stop new oil, gas and coal extraction, and surge money into clean energy and efficiency solutions?”