A new report released by International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that global demand for oil, natural gas and coal – and the resulting carbon emissions – will peak at the end of this decade.
According to the recently published annual World Energy Outlook report, the exponential growth of clean energy sources will drive this transformation, according to the Paris-based agency.
The IEA estimates that, by the end of the decade, the number of electric vehicles in circulation will be almost ten times greater than the number of conventional vehicles, and renewable energies should represent almost half of the global energy matrix, compared to the current 30%.
Furthermore, slowing growth in China will contribute to reduced demand for fossil fuels. The world's second-largest economy, also the largest energy consumer, has reached a “tipping point”, with total energy demand expected to peak in the middle of the decade. China is emerging as a clean energy powerhouse, having accounted for more than half of global electric vehicle sales last year.
Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the IEA, highlighted that the transition to clean energy sources is underway around the world and is inevitable. “It’s not a matter of ‘if’, it’s a question of ‘when’, and the sooner the better for all of us,” Birol said in a statement.
Energy Scenario
The IEA report contradicts calls from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which called for trillions of dollars of investment in the sector by 2045 to avoid a rise in energy prices.
This scenario contrasts sharply with the recent strategy of some of the largest oil and gas companies in the United States, such as ExxonMobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX), which have chosen to reinforce shale production in the US by acquiring competing companies such as Pioneer (PXD) and Hess (HES), in deals valued at 60 billion dollars and 53 billion dollars, respectively.
To avoid a drastic increase in energy prices, Haitham Al Ghais, Secretary General of OPEC, warned that the oil sector will require a global investment of at least 12 trillion dollars by 2045, as stated during the ADIPEC energy conference in Abu Dhabi. Dhabi.
