INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY (IEA)

Recently, the International Energy Agency (IEA) published the World Energy Investment Report, 2021.

Important points:

Global energy investment is expected to rebound in 2021 and increase 10% year-on-year to around USD 1.9 trillion.
Most of this investment will flow towards power and end-use sectors, shifting out of traditional fossil fuel production.
The scenario is perfectly aligned with the projection that global energy demand will rise 4.6% year-on-year in 2021, offsetting its contraction in 2020.
Renewable power will have the largest share – around 70% of the total will be spent on new power generation capacity.
There will be substantial gain of renewable energy as the future energy outlook has been dependent on technological development, well-established supply chain and demand from consumers for carbon-neutral electricity.
Upstream (production and exploration) investment in oil is expected to grow 10%. This expansion in fossil fuels was planned with novel technologies like Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and bioenergy CCS, which are yet to attain commercial success.
The increment of coal-fired power in 2020, mostly driven by China, is indicating that coal is down but not yet out.

Increased Emissions:

The above positive scenarios will still not deter the increase in carbon dioxide emission, after contraction in 2020 mainly due to economic slowdown induced by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Global emission is set to grow by 1.5 billion tonnes in 2021.
Many developing nations’ supporting policy and regulatory frameworks are not yet aligned with long-term net-zero goals.
Net zero emissions refers to achieving an overall balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced and greenhouse gas emissions taken out of the atmosphere.
In many Emerging Market and Developing Economies (EMDEs), investment in renewables was hit harder by Covid-19 than in developed nations – and now many EMDEs have prioritised coal and oil in recovery plans.

Reasons

The emerging market is almost 70% responsible for demand growth and India plays an important part in this block.
China is showing a tremendous expansion in coal-based power production — their coal consumption in December 2020 was a historic high — though the country has a commendable renewable growth.
The responsibility-share of developed nations should not be undermined. Their in-country growth of emission is moderate but their exported emission is of concern.
Australia’s exported emission through coal is double its domestic emission.
Although the US has shown renewed commitment to the multilateral United Nations system for tackling climate change by re-joining the Paris agreement. Its fascination with cheap shale gas is creating an investment distortion and adversely affecting the sustainability of developmental pathways of countries like India.

International Energy Agency

It is an autonomous Intergovernmental Organisation established in 1974 in Paris, France.
IEA mainly focuses on its energy policies which include economic development, energy security and environmental protection. These policies are also known as the 3 E’s of IEA.
India became an Associate member of IEA in March 2017 but it was in engagement with IEA long before its association with the organization.
Recently, India has inked a Strategic Partnership Agreement with the IEA to strengthen cooperation in global energy security, stability and sustainability.
It is dedicated to providing independent information and analysis on how coal can become a cleaner source of energy, compatible with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
World Energy Investment Report, World Energy Outlook Report, Global Energy Review
Recently, it has released the India Energy Outlook 2021 Report and Net Zero by 2050, World’s first comprehensive energy roadmap.

Way Forward

Market stimulus amid the pandemic may have lost the opportunity to maximise the clean developmental pathway, which the world is in dire need of.
The urgency visible in communication is still not satisfactorily reflected in action and the world is far away from the scientific target of limiting climate change within two degrees Celsius.
A more democratic decision-making process and de-corporatisation of the energy sector is the need of the future for the survival of civilization on this planet.

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT

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