IEA’s World Energy Outlook Offers Compelling Case For Further Global GHG Reductions

(MARRAKESH, Morocco — November 16, 2016) In its annual World Energy Outlook released today, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that global energy-related CO2 emissions were flat in 2016, while fossil fuel subsidies declined and renewable energy increased. This builds on previous IEA reports that have found global energy-related CO2 emissions have been flat since 2013. The IEA estimates that 60% of new power generation in 2040 will be from renewables. According to the IEA’s estimate, these and other trends make it likely that many countries will meet the targets in their pledges made under the Paris climate agreement (known as nationally determined contributions, or “NDCs”). At the same time, the IEA projects that although achieving these targets will slow the rise in emissions, they are not sufficient to limit warming to two degrees above preindustrial levels, let alone the more ambitious goal of 1.5 degrees.

“The IEA’s World Energy Outlook makes clear that we are entering a period of energy transition. Energy efficiency is increasing, the cost of renewables is falling, and electric vehicles are gaining a toe-hold in major automotive markets around the world. And this is good news for our global climate.  For the second year in a row, energy-related carbon emissions remained flat even as the global economy grew. 

“At the same time, as the IEA report makes clear, these positive trends, by themselves, will not enable us to meet the important goals the world community established last year in Paris.  Solutions like well-designed carbon markets, greater investment in renewables, grid modernization, and  energy efficiency, and reductions in methane pollution from the oil and gas  industry, which contributes to 25% of the warming our planet is experiencing today, will be crucial to avoiding the worst effects of global climate change in our lifetime, and for future generations.”

• Nathaniel Keohane, Vice President, Global Climate, Environmental Defense Fund