The energy sector is the source of around three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions today and holds the key to averting the worst effects of climate change, perhaps the greatest challenge humankind has faced. Reducing global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to net zero by 2050 is consistent with efforts to limit the long-term increase in average global temperatures to 1.5?C. This calls for nothing less than a complete transformation of how we produce, transport and consume energy. The growing political consensus on reaching net zero is cause for considerable optimism about the progress the world can make, but the changes required to reach net-zero emissions globally by 2050 are poorly understood. A huge amount of work is needed to turn today’s impressive ambitions into reality, especially given the range of different situations among countries and their differing capacities to make the necessary changes. This special IEA report sets out a pathway for achieving this goal,...

This year’s edition of the World Energy Investment report presents the latest data and analysis of how energy investment flows are recovering from the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic, including full-year estimates of the outlook for 2021. It examines how investors are assessing risks and opportunities across all areas of fuel and electricity supply, efficiency and research and development, against a backdrop of a recovery in global energy demand as well as strengthened pledges from governments and the private sector to address climate change.

The report focuses on two key questions:

At the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference of parties in Copenhagen in December 2009, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced that he would host the first Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) to bring together ministers with responsibility for clean energy technologies from the world’s major economies and ministers from a select number of smaller countries that are leading in various areas of clean energy. By working together, these governments can accomplish more than by working alone. The CEM’s initiatives build on Technology Action Plans that were released by the Major Economies Forum Global Partnership in December 2009, which laid out best practice blueprints for action in key technology areas.

The rooftop solar photovoltaic (RTS) sector plays a crucial role in achieving India’s ambitious renewable energy targets by 2022 and beyond. However, the progress of residential, commercial and industrial applications has been slow compared with utility-scale solar PV and onshore wind power. Policy, regulatory and administrative challenges at both central and state levels, as well as limited financing options and reluctance of utility distribution companies (DISCOMs), hamper the faster expansion of rooftop installations. To discuss and address some of these challenges, the International Energy Agency (IEA), in collaboration with the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) of India, organised an online workshop titled “Unlocking the economic potential of rooftop solar energy in India” on 12 October 2020. The workshop brought together the central and state-level policy makers of India, business communities,...

Modern and sustainable forms of bioenergy play an important role in our new special report on how the global energy sector can reach net-zero emissions by 2050, which also examines bioenergy’s advantages and limitations in efforts to address climate change by limiting the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 °C.

Bioenergy is a versatile renewable energy source that can be used in all sectors, and it can often make use of existing transmission and distribution systems and end-user equipment. But there are constraints on expanding the supply of bioenergy, and possible trade-offs with sustainable development goals, including avoiding conflicts at local level with other uses of land, notably for food production and biodiversity protection.

To navigate these risks, our Roadmap to Net Zero by 2050 combined for the first time the IEA’s global energy system modelling with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)’s Global Biosphere Management...

The energy sector is the source of around three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions today and holds the key to averting the worst effects of climate change, perhaps the greatest challenge humankind has faced. Reducing global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to net zero by 2050 is consistent with efforts to limit the long-term increase in average global temperatures to 1.5?C. This calls for nothing less than a complete transformation of how we produce, transport and consume energy. The growing political consensus on reaching net zero is cause for considerable optimism about the progress the world can make, but the changes required to reach net-zero emissions globally by 2050 are poorly understood. A huge amount of work is needed to turn today’s impressive ambitions into reality, especially given the range of different situations among countries and their differing capacities to make the necessary changes. This special IEA report sets out a pathway for achieving this goal,...

The world has a viable pathway to building a global energy sector with net-zero emissions in 2050, but it is narrow and requires an unprecedented transformation of how energy is produced, transported and used globally, the International Energy Agency said in a landmark special report released today.

Climate pledges by governments to date – even if fully achieved – would fall well short of what is required to bring global energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to net zero by 2050 and give the world an even chance of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 °C, according to the new report, Net Zero by 2050: a Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector.

The report is the world’s first comprehensive study of how to transition to a net zero energy system by 2050 while ensuring stable and affordable energy supplies, providing universal energy access, and enabling robust economic growth. It sets out a cost-effective and economically productive pathway,...

Well-designed clean energy transition policies will have positive socio-economic impacts and can enhance energy access and affordability, while protecting low-income households and vulnerable populations.

Drawing on successful examples from around the world, this webinar will explore best practice in people centred clean energy transition policies. It will specifically discuss how clean energy transitions can provide higher tiers of energy access for income generating activities and adopting socially beneficial approaches such as gender-informed and youth-led business models. It will also look at clean energy transition policies related to pricing that have demonstrated positive social impacts, notably by incorporating distributional effects into their design.

The webinar will inform the discussions of the Global Commission on People-Centred Clean Energy Transitions.

It will be livestreamed on the day of the event on this page.

The energy sector is the source of around three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions today and holds the key to averting the worst effects of climate change, perhaps the greatest challenge humankind has faced. Reducing global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to net zero by 2050 is consistent with efforts to limit the long-term increase in average global temperatures to 1.5?C. This calls for nothing less than a complete transformation of how we produce, transport and consume energy. The growing political consensus on reaching net zero is cause for considerable optimism about the progress the world can make, but the changes required to reach net-zero emissions globally by 2050 are poorly understood. A huge amount of work is needed to turn today’s impressive ambitions into reality, especially given the range of different situations among countries and their differing capacities to make the necessary changes. This special IEA report sets out a pathway for achieving this goal,...

If you are on a personal connection, like at home, you can run an anti-virus scan on your device to make sure it is not infected with malware.

If you are at an office or shared network, you can ask the network administrator to run a scan across the network looking for misconfigured or infected devices.

The energy sector is the source of around three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions today and holds the key to averting the worst effects of climate change, perhaps the greatest challenge humankind has faced. Reducing global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to net zero by 2050 is consistent with efforts to limit the long-term increase in average global temperatures to 1.5?C. This calls for nothing less than a complete transformation of how we produce, transport and consume energy. The growing political consensus on reaching net zero is cause for considerable optimism about the progress the world can make, but the changes required to reach net-zero emissions globally by 2050 are poorly understood. A huge amount of work is needed to turn today’s impressive ambitions into reality, especially given the range of different situations among countries and their differing capacities to make the necessary changes. This special IEA report sets out a pathway for achieving this goal,...

“The last 12 months have seen enormous upheavals in energy markets around the world, yet the challenges of transforming the global energy system remain urgent and daunting.”

This may sound like the opening of a new IEA report about the critical need to accelerate the transition to clean energy as economies recover from the Covid-19 crisis. But these words are actually 12 years old. It’s the first line of the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2009. Back then, as the world started to recover from the global financial crisis and recession, we highlighted an “unprecedented, yet relatively narrow, window of opportunity to take action to concentrate investment on low-carbon technology.” 

To illustrate that window of opportunity, we included a pioneering new scenario in the 2009 Outlook called the 450 Scenario. The new scenario identified a clear pathway to limit the long-term concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to 450 parts per million of CO2-equivalent, an...

Global

After a decade of rapid growth, in 2020 the global electric car stock hit the 10 million mark, a 43% increase over 2019, and representing a 1% stock share. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for two-thirds of new electric car registrations and two-thirds of the stock in 2020. China, with 4.5 million electric cars, has the largest fleet, though in 2020 Europe had the largest annual increase to reach 3.2 million.

Overall the global market for all types of cars was significantly affected by the economic repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic. The first part of 2020 saw new car registrations drop about one-third from the preceding year. This was partially offset by stronger activity in the second-half, resulting in a 16% drop overall year-on-year. Notably, with conventional and overall new car registrations falling, global electric car sales share rose 70% to a record 4.6% in 2020.

About 3 million new electric cars...

This table highlights key policies and measures that support the deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) and zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) for light-duty vehicle (LDV) and heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) models. It summarises existing measures as well as announced targets and ambitions by region and country. These take a variety of forms, such as fuel economy standards, CO2 emissions standards, deployment roadmaps, and EV sales or stock targets and ambitions. The table does not include fiscal policies such as subsidies, carbon taxes or similar policy instruments.

The policies and measures are structured in four categories:

The Global EV Outlook 2021 will be launched in two separate webinar events: on 29 April 19:00 - 20:00 (CEST) and on 30 April 10:00 - 11:00 (CEST). This is intended to facilitate attendance of EVI members and partners in different time zones. During the webinar the authors will present and discuss the main findings of the report. Attendees will be given a chance to comment and ask questions during a Q&A session.

The IEA's Global EV Outlook (GEVO) annual series is the flagship publication of the Electric Vehicle Initiative. GEVO 2021 looks at the latest EV trends and main drivers for road transport sector electrification around the world. The report provides an overview of recent government policies to accelerate deployment of EVs and actions taken to shield EV markets from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. It also includes an outlook for EV and charging infrastructure deployment up to 2030 and analyses the implications of EV uptake on electricity demand,...