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Vehicle manufacturers and policy makers are boosting their attention and actions related to electric vehicles (EVs). EV technologies such as full battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric models are attactive options to help reach environmental, societal and health objectives.

In addition to being two- to four-times more efficient than conventional internal combustion engine models, EVs can reduce reliance on oil-based fuels and, if running on low-carbon power, can deliver significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Plus, with zero tailpipe emissions, EVs are well suited to help solve air pollution issues. Moreover, EVs are driving advances in battery technology – a key issue for industrial competitiveness in the transition to clean energy.

EV fleets are expanding at a fast pace in several of the world’s largest vehicle markets. The costs of batteries and EVs are dropping. Charging infrastructure is expanding. This progress promotes...

"There is no shortage of money worldwide, but it is not finding its way to where it is most needed. Governments need to give international public finance institutions a strong strategic mandate to finance clean energy transitions in the developing world."

The number of countries announcing net-zero emissions targets for the coming decades continues to grow. Even though pledges by governments to date still fall well short of what is required to bring global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050, ambition on emission reductions is building rapidly worldwide. The IEA's recently published Roadmap to Net Zero by 2050 sets out a pathway for the global energy sector to reach this goal and explores its wider implications.

On the path to global net zero, each country will need to design its own strategy, taking into account its current baseline and specific circumstances. Many countries in Latin America start from a privileged position, with some of the highest shares of renewables in power generation and transport, as well as abundant, high-quality renewable resources.

This Ministerial Roundtable will explore how the region can build on its strengths and seize new opportunities that are...

"There is no shortage of money worldwide, but it is not finding its way to where it is most needed. Governments need to give international public finance institutions a strong strategic mandate to finance clean energy transitions in the developing world."

Air pollution has emerged as one of India’s gravest social and environmental problems in recent years. At the same time, the country is experiencing signs of a warming climate with potentially devastating effects in the long term. Energy-related fuel combustion is at the heart of both crises as it is a main source of three major air pollutants. Therefore, the adoption of an integrated approach to tackle both air pollution and climate change can deliver important co-benefits, but quantitative evidence is still fragmented in the Indian context.

The new IEA Net Zero by 2050 report stresses that the world needs a “historic surge in clean energy investment” to avoid severe impacts from climate change. However, sustainable energy investments sometimes face an uphill struggle because regulated prices or taxes favour fossil fuels.

These market distortions are a roadblock to a cleaner energy future, and the IEA has long supported international efforts to phase them out. At their recent Summit, G7 leaders reaffirmed their own commitment to eliminate inefficient fossil fuel subsidies by 2025 and called on all countries to join their undertaking, “recognising the substantial financial resource this could unlock globally to support the transition”.

A key IEA contribution to this process is our monitoring of the energy prices that consumers pay around the world, which we compare with reference prices reflecting their full market value (the so-called “price gap” methodology for estimating consumption...

One of the key pillars for reaching net-zero emissions is using energy more efficiently.

Our recent special report explores how the global energy sector can reach net-zero emissions by 2050. In the pathway it lays out – the Net-Zero Emissions by 2050 (NZE) Scenario – global energy demand in 2050 is around 8% lower than today but will need to serve an economy more than twice as big and a population with 2 billion more people.

That means each unit of energy will have to achieve more than it does today in terms of heating, cooling, cooking, moving people or things or powering a factory. Improving energy efficiency is a central foundation of a pathway that both meets the needs of a growing and increasingly wealthy global population, and achieves net-zero emissions by 2050. 

Final energy demand in the NZE Scenario is well within the range of comparable 1.5 °C scenarios1 from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), with many IPCC...

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...

"The rebound in energy investment is a welcome sign, but much greater resources have to be mobilised and directed to clean energy technologies to put the world on track to reach net-zero emissions by 2050"

Wealthy countries have a “moral responsibility” to support clean energy transitions in Africa, said Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The world has two major challenges: to provide energy to 800-million people on the planet — 600-million of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa — and to reach its climate goals, he said.

“Many governments today around the world have come up with net-zero 2050 [emission] targets. This is, of course, very important but we know that Africa is responsible for only about 2% of global emissions. However, the continent is disproportionately hit by the impacts of climate change.”

This shows that the “race to zero is a race not between countries but a race against time”, Birol said. 

Some countries, with their vast economies, have begun this race ahead of others. “But one thing that is important to note is that unless everybody crosses the finish line, nobody wins this race,...

"The rebound in energy investment is a welcome sign, but much greater resources have to be mobilised and directed to clean energy technologies to put the world on track to reach net-zero emissions by 2050"