Net zero by 2050 achievable if the world cuts down fossil fuel demand - IEA

The Paris-based agency’s updated Net Zero Roadmap shows that a pathway to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels is possible due to “record growth of key clean energy technologies”.

PHOTO: IEA headquarters in Paris. IEA

Innovation and advancement in clean energy sectors such as solar power capacity have been “delivering more options and lowering technology costs,” said the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its latest Net Zero Roadmap edition.

Through increased investments from several global economies and strengthened international cooperation, the world's renewable power capacity has the potential to triple by 2030. Additionally, methane emissions from the global energy sector could decrease by 75% by the end of this decade, the IEA argued.

In its latest report, the Paris-headquartered body estimated that global clean energy spending needs to “rise from $1.8 trillion in 2023 to $4.5 trillion annually by the early 2030s.”

The IEA report further stated that no new long-lead-time upstream oil and gas projects are needed. This is because the implementation of new and improved global policies for clean energy transition will decrease the demand for fossil fuels by up to 80% by 2050.

“Sequencing the increase in clean energy investment and the decline of fossil fuel supply investment is vital if damaging price spikes or supply gluts are to be avoided,” the IEA said.

The agency said it is crucial to promote a fair energy transition that considers the different circumstances of each nation. “Advanced economies reach net zero sooner to allow emerging and developing economies more time,” it said in the report.

“Governments need to separate climate from geopolitics, given the scale of the challenge at hand,” said IEA’s executive director Fatih Birol.

“The pathway to 1.5 °C has narrowed in the past two years, but clean energy technologies are keeping it open,” Birol further added.

Last month, global oil-producer group OPEC criticized the Paris-based energy agency for endorsing the view that fossil fuel demand would peak before 2030, calling it "an extremely risky" narrative. 

By Aparupa Mazumder 

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