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The International Energy Agency (IEA) has issued a warning, stating that any delays in implementing emission cuts will render achieving the net zero emissions target by 2050 impossible. In order to reach this goal, significant reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, particularly methane, must be made by 2030.
To successfully reduce global fossil fuel demand by more than 25% by 2030 and 80% by 2050, according to an updated roadmap by the IEA, strong domestic policies and increased investment in clean energy are necessary.
The IEA also highlights the need for clean energy investment to increase to around $4.5 trillion per year by the early 2030s, up from the current level of $1.8 trillion in 2023.
According to the agency, the rapid adoption of key clean energy technologies will result in the demand for coal, oil, and natural gas peaking in the next decade, even without climate policies.
Though the IEA’s updated roadmap does not call for new long-lead time upstream oil and gas projects, ongoing investment is still necessary in existing assets and approved projects.
Fatih Birol, the executive director at the IEA, emphasizes the need to separate climate from geopolitics and stresses that the net zero by 2050 target may be reached sooner by advanced economies, affording emerging and developing economies more time to achieve their goals.
To limit global warming to 1.5°C, the IEA states that emissions in advanced economies need to decline by 80% and by 60% in emerging market economies by 2035 compared to 2022 levels.
