International Energy Agency (“IEA”) is an intergovernmental organization that aims to support decisions by governments and the private sector to ensure reliable, affordable, and clean energy. On March 23, 2018, the IEA issued its first “Global Energy and CO2 Status Report.” Some recent reports claim that the IEA has been guiding governments toward energy decisions that are inconsistent with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. However, according to the IEA the significant growth in global energy-related CO2 emissions in 2017 tells us that current efforts to combat climate change are far from sufficient.

Specifically, the IEA reports conclude that: 1) global energy demand grew by 2.1% in 2017 to reach 14.1 billion tons of oil equivalent; 2) natural gas absolute demand increased the most, reaching 22% of total energy demand; 3) fossil fuels accounted for 81% of global energy demand, a level that has remained stable for more than 30 years; 4) global CO2 emissions grew by 1.4%, reaching a historic high of 32.5 gigatons and marking a resumption of growth after remaining flat for three years; and 5) renewables saw the highest growth rate of any energy source, led by China and the United States.

According to the IEA, 2017’s increase in emissions was the equivalent of adding 170 million cars to the roads and was the result of global economic growth, lower fossil fuel prices, and weaker energy efficiency efforts. While many major economies saw their emissions increase, there were declines in the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Japan.

More information can be found HERE.