Fossil fuel demand 'far too high,' IEA says
October 24, 2023
Global demand for coal, oil, and natural gas is set to peak by 2030, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday.
In its annual World Energy Outlook, the IEA said a "combination of growing momentum behind clean energy technologies and structural economic shifts around the world" could bring peaks in global demand for fossil fuels.
"The transition to clean energy is happening worldwide and it's unstoppable. It's not a question of 'if,' it's just a matter of 'how soon' – and the sooner, the better for all of us," IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said.
"Governments, companies and investors need to get behind clean energy transitions rather than hindering them," he added.
By the end of the decade, the share of renewable energy in the energy mix is anticipated to increase from 30% to almost 50%.
Rising temperatures threaten energy security
Still, the IEA warned fossil fuel use was still "far too high" to keep within reach of the Paris Agreement goal of limiting the rise in average global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
"This risks not only worsening climate impacts after a year of record-breaking heat but also undermining the security of the energy system, which was built for a cooler world with less extreme weather events," the agency said.
"Bending the emissions curve onto a path consistent with 1.5 degrees Celsius remains possible but very difficult," it said
The agency warned that without substantive policy changes worldwide, global average temperatures could rise by around 2.4 Celsius this century.
The IEA said increasing investment in clean energy rather than fossil fuels was crucial.
"The end of the growth era for fossil fuels does not mean an end to fossil fuel investment, but it undercuts the rationale for any increase in spending," it said.
The report comes just weeks before the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai.
It will be the first formal assessment of countries' progress towards limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
lo/ab (AFP, Reuters