The International Energy Agency’s annual outlooks move global markets, guiding investment decisions on everything from oil and natural gas to renewables and electric vehicles.
So it was notable Wednesday when the Paris-based organization’s newest outlook included a scenario in which fossil fuel consumption increases for decades to come. That’s a reversal for IEA, which spent the past five years predicting that fossil fuel demand would peak around 2030.
What changed? The U.S. president — and the world’s climate ambitions.
IEA’s 2020 outlook ditched a scenario that depicted long-term increases in fossil fuel consumption, writing at the time that it was “difficult to imagine” a world in which countries pursued a business-as-usual approach to climate action. Five years later, fossil fuel consumption continues to hit record levels, despite the rapid growth of renewable energy and electric vehicles.
