IEA chief sees ‘disturbing’ signal for climate target

Bloomberg

Global efforts to reduce wasted energy have faced a major setback in 2020, sidelining a relatively simple way of slashing emissions and hitting climate goals.
That’s the conclusion from an International Energy Agency report, which recorded the weakest improvement in efficiency since 2010, as investments into technologies that can cut emissions have slowed amid the economic turmoil brought on by the pandemic.
“Global progress in energy efficiency in 2020 is the slowest in the last decade. It is a very disturbing message,” the IEA’s Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a press conference.
“In the absence of very strongly and rapidly improving our energy efficiency, our chances to reach our energy and climate goals are very slim, if at all existing.
The report highlights a challenge for policymakers looking to improve how the world consumes energy across almost every part of life.
Even though emissions are set to drop in 2020, stuttering progress on energy efficiency could have long-term consequences for the climate far greater than this year’s temporary emissions relief.
Improving the way the world heats and cool its buildings as well as powers its cars over the next 20 years would see a drop of about half the energy-related pollution needed to ensure the countries hit climate targets set out in the Paris Agreement, the IEA said.