International Energy Agency
IGO
| International Energy Agency link () Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Website | |
|---|---|
| File:International Energy Agency (logo).png | |
| Abbreviation | IEA |
| Formation | November 1974 |
| Headquarters | Paris |
| Leader | International Energy Agency/Executive Director |
| Membership | Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States |
| An organization that was formed after the 1973 oil crisis. The IEA was initially dedicated to never let that happen again, as well as organizing the oil market and making sure big oil stays ahead of other energy sources. | |
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The International Energy Agency is an organization that was formed after the 1973 oil crisis. The IEA was initially dedicated to never let that happen again, as well as organizing the oil market and making sure big oil stays ahead of other energy sources.
2021 Immediate end to new investments in oil and gas projects
In May 2021 “the IEA stunned markets with the publication of its Net Zero by 2050 roadmap, which calls for an immediate end to new investments in oil and gas projects as part of a “total transformation of the energy systems that underpin our economies.”[1]
Speaking to the magazine Natural Gas World Cyril Widdershoven, an energy analyst at Dutch consultancy VEROCY, said the IEA’s recommendation is “irresponsible” and “incomprehensible.” “If we do this, there will be shortages in five or six years that will severely impact the world economy.”.
People seem to have forgotten that oil and gas are not just needed to provide energy, but are inextricably linked to almost all of our economic activities, notes Widdershoven, including the production of medicines, food, clothes and fertilisers. “In a very short time there would be 2bn people in the world without adequate food supplies. By viewing oil and gas simply as energy products, the IEA appears to overlook the many other functions they perform,” he says.[1]
Widdershoven, who also holds several advisory positions with international think tanks around the world and is global head of strategy and risk at Berry Commodities Fund, frankly admits that he finds it difficult to understand what made the IEA propose such a policy measure. “In the IEA’s World Energy Outlook, even in the Sustainable Development Scenario, gas demand was set to grow in the period till 2050. Indeed, not so long ago the IEA proclaimed that we were on the eve of a golden age for gas. I fail to see why they have suddenly changed their stance so radically,” he says.”[1]