International Energy Agency
The Global Commission for Urgent Action on Energy Efficiency
Jul. 30, 2019
Courtesy ofInternational Energy Agency
The IEA established an independent global commission last week to examine how progress on energy efficiency can be accelerated through new and stronger policy action.
The focus of the new panel will be on key policy actions and will produce a concise list of clear, actionable recommendations next year. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar of Ireland will be the commission’s honorary chair, and Mr Richard Bruton, Ireland’s Minister of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, will chair the commission’s work.
Government ministers, top business executives and thought leaders from around the world make up the high-level panel, including current and former ministers for energy and environment from Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Morocco, New Zealand and Spain. Dr Amani Abou-Zeid, the African Union Commissioner for Energy and Infrastructure, and Dr Wan Gang, the previous Chinese Minister of Science and Technology, who is known as the “father of electric vehicles” in China, have also agreed to take part.
"It is imperative that we get global energy efficiency progress back on track," said Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA’s Executive Director. "I’m delighted that Prime Minister Varadkar and other eminent figures from around the world have agreed to commit their energy and ideas to this vital project."
Technologies for a clean energy future
Countries will need all the tools at their disposal to meet their commitments to tackling emissions and air pollution while maintaining energy security. Last week, the IEA hosted a discussion among leading global energy sector figures about technologies that can help to bring about a clean energy future, including hydrogen and nuclear power.
Speakers included Dan Brouillette, Deputy US Energy Secretary; Jean-Bernard Lévy, Chairman and CEO of EDF; Hiroshi Oe, Japanese Ambassador to the OECD and Chair of the IEA Governing Board; and Dominique Ristori, Director-General Energy at the European Commission.
"There is no miracle technology that will solve the daunting environmental challenges the world faces," said IEA Executive Director Dr Fatih Birol. "We need continued innovation across a range of technologies, including renewables, energy efficiency, batteries, carbon capture and more. The IEA sees hydrogen and nuclear power as important parts of clean energy transitions in many countries, but they need help from governments to overcome significant obstacles."
Addressing gender imbalances in the energy sector
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In a recent commentary, IEA analyst Bipasha Baruah explores the challenges facing women seeking to work in the energy sector, explaining how in an industry like energy, a lack of information and access to networks and training can make a significant difference in recruitment or advancement. This also means that barriers faced by women in conventional sectors, such as oil and gas, can also persist in clean energy sectors.
"There are ways to account for these various imbalances, such as direct access to industry insiders or building connections through mentoring, outreach presentations and visits, site tours, student networks, temporary work placements and so on. The industry can play a role here, supported by gender equality advocacy organizations in the energy sector such as Women in Oil and Gas (WIOG), Women in Renewable Energy (WiRE), Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy (WRISE) and Women in Clean Energy (WICE)."
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Negotiations on carbon market rules are making progress
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The world’s climate negotiators recently concluded two weeks of discussions about the next steps for the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, with carbon market rules high on the agenda. While countries made good progress on technical discussions and came up with a new negotiating text, disagreements remain about the status of the text and how to take it forwards, IEA analyst Luca Lo Re explains in a recent commentary.
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The who and what of power system flexibility
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Power systems are changing fast across the world as many countries deploy higher shares of renewables and other low-carbon alternatives. Yet despite such progress, change has not been fast enough to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement. In fact, power sector emissions have been on the rise over the past two years and investments in variable renewable power capacity appear to have stalled for the first time in two decades.
In a commentary that builds upon Status of Power System Transformation 2019, IEA analyst Enrique Gutierrez suggests that one of the keys to increasing power system flexibility – the ability to respond in a timely manner to variations in electricity supply and demand – is international sharing of best practices.
"To know what changes should be implemented, and by who, it is critically important to understand the specific point of intervention and engage the right stakeholders. More broadly, it is important to start a conversation with a comprehensive set of stakeholders, to get an idea of what is possible and what is needed, and to compare experiences within and across countries."
Learn more about the IEA`s collaboration on this topic with the Clean Energy Ministerial campaigns Power System Flexibility and 21st Century Power Partnership, and the Electric Vehicles Initiative.
Drawing upon new extractions from the Worldwide Patent Statistical Database (PATSTAT), researchers at the IEA and OECD have found that while patenting of innovations in climate change mitigation technologies (CCMT) related to power generation, transport, buildings, manufacturing, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) had generally been increasing much faster than other technologies in the period up to 2011-2012, there has been a notable drop-off in the number of these patents since then.
The precipitous decline in patented innovation since 2011-2012 is a stark warning since there can be a long lag between innovation and cost reductions. We have benefited significantly in recent years from the research efforts that went into wind and solar power in the 1990s and 2000s, with increasingly competitively generation costs. The evidence presented here based on patents raises concerns about developments in future years.
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