Proactive Investors - Global demand for oil, gas and coal will likely peak by 2030 as countries increasingly electrify and adopt cleaner energy technologies, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said.
Though energy-related carbon emissions are expected to peak in 2025, the intergovernmental agency warned more still needs to be done to meet climate targets.
“The transition to clean energy is happening worldwide and it’s unstoppable,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol said in a report.
“It’s not a question of if, it’s just a matter of how soon - and the sooner the better for all of us.”
The share of fossil fuels in the global energy mix is set to decline from a long-preserved 80%, to 73% by 2030, according to the agency.
Solar and renewables’ share of the energy mix will also likely jump over the same period, as the likes of electric vehicles (EVs) on roads increase ten-fold.
Given the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, following the outbreak of war in Ukraine last year, the IEA argued that future investment in fossil fuels was becoming less and less viable.
“Taking into account the ongoing strains and volatility in traditional energy markets today, claims that oil and gas represent safe or secure choices for the world’s energy and climate future look weaker than ever,” Birol continued.
“Governments, companies and investors need to get behind clean energy transitions rather than hindering them,” he urged.
In order to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C, as set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement, investment in clean technology will have to ramp up three-fold, with methane emissions and the use of new unabated coal power plants drastically cut.