Progress towards clean energy has stalled: IEA

Renewable technologies & greater efforts by emerging economies among few bright spots

The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Wednesday said the drive to clean up the world’s energy system had stalled. IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven told the 23-member Clean Energy Ministerial despite much talk by world leaders and a boom in renewable energy through the last decade, the average unit of energy produced on Wednesday was “as dirty as it was 20 years ago”.

The rapid expansion of renewable technologies was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise bleak assessment of global progress towards low-carbon energy, IEA said in an annual report presented to the ministerial here on Wednesday.

Paris-based IEA is a 28-member think tank of developed countries focused on energy.

To point to the inertia on the clean energy front, the IEA report, Tracking Clean Energy Progress, introduced the energy sector carbon intensity index (ESCII), which shows the average carbon dioxide emitted to provide a particular unit of energy. In 1990, the ESCII stood at 2.39 tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne of oil equivalent (tCO2/toe); in 2010, it stood at a dismal 2.37 tCO2/toe.

“We cannot afford another 20 years of listlessness. We need rapid expansion in low-carbon energy technologies if we are to avoid potentially catastrophic warming of the planet. But we must also accelerate the shift away from dirtier fossil fuels,” van der Hoeven said.

The report said progress on most technologies that could save energy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions to levels consistent with international climate goals remained alarmingly slow.

However, the report found some recent, positive signs. Between 2011 and 2012, solar photovoltaic and wind technologies grew an impressive 42 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively, despite the economic and policy turbulence in the sector. Also, emerging economies are stepping up efforts in clean energy. For instance, Brazil, China and India were among the countries that enhanced policy support to the renewable electricity sector last year. Advanced vehicle technologies, too, saw progress, with hybrid-electric vehicles breaking the one-million annual sales mark. Electric vehicle sales more than doubled to 110,000 units.

van der Hoeven emphasised the significant potential of energy-efficiency measures. While there had been progress in improving the fuel economy of passenger vehicles, there were wide differences between the standards of various countries, she said, adding currently, very few regions had comprehensive fuel economy measures in place.

Though the revolution in shale gas technology has triggered a switch from coal to gas in the US (crucial to reducing emissions in the short term), this is still a regional phenomenon. In Europe, the usage of coal increased---its share in the power generation mix sore, at the expense of natural gas.

Even as countries continue to rely heavily on fossil fuels, carbon capture and storage (CCS) deployment is critical. While CCS technologies are mature in many applications, the report stresses these are unlikely to be deployed commercially until governments make strong commitments, in the form of appropriate policies. The report recommends various policy measures, based on technologies. It stresses the true cost of energy must be reflected in consumer prices, through carbon pricing and the phase-out of fossil-fuel subsidies. Technologies such as electric vehicles, wind and solar power would need support for several years. More stringent and broader energy-performance standards, building codes and fuel economy standards could drive energy efficiency, the report said.