Why the IEA is ‘calling time’ on the fossil fuel industry

Why the IEA is ‘calling time’ on the fossil fuel industry

Earlier this year a full-page colour ad appeared in the press: “Who is Fatih Birol playing for?” it asked, picturing the head of the International Energy Agency dressed in football garb.

The advert, placed by climate pressure group Avaaz, highlighted the awkward position of the IEA, a group founded to protect the interests of oil-consuming countries, as it starts to plan for a world without fossil fuels.

But this week marked a turning point for the world’s most influential energy body as the IEA published a bombshell report on how to reach net zero emissions by 2050 — a move that followed years of campaigning from investors, climate activists and even its own member countries.

The Paris-based IEA is calling for a stop to new oil, gas and coal exploration but also for an end to the dominance of hydrocarbons. Energy investment needs to rise to $5tn annually by 2030, mostly on clean energy, up from $2tn today, it said.

“Effectively they are calling time on the fossil fuel era,” said Mark Lewis, chief sustainability strategist at BNP Paribas Asset Management. “It is like the pub landlord ringing the bell for last orders.”

It is a drastic turnround since the days of the Arab oil