IEA says few energy technologies, sectors on track for climate goals

The International Energy Agency has said only four of 38 energy technologies and sectors were on target last year to meet long-term climate and air pollution goals, a study by the Agency showed Wednesday.

The IEA tracks energy technologies, including solar, wind, nuclear, coal and gas, as well as energy-intensive sectors such as transport, chemicals, and aluminum, to assess progress toward international goals to limit the rise in global temperatures and to curb pollution.

According to the study, four of those – solar photovoltaic (PV), lighting, data centers and networks and electric vehicles – made “tremendous progress” last year.

Solar PV experienced record deployment, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) became the dominant source of lighting in homes around the world and electric vehicle sales jumped 54 percent.

But it said most technologies and sectors are not on track to meet long-term goals.

“There is a critical need for more vigorous action by governments, industry, and other stakeholders to drive advances in energy technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Fatih Birol, IEA Executive Director said in the report.

“The world doesn’t have an energy problem but an emissions problem, and this is where we should focus our efforts,” he said.

The IEA said energy efficiency improvements had slowed and progress on technologies like carbon capture and storage had stalled.

This contributed to a 1.4 percent increase in global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions last year, it said.

Progress in deploying onshore wind and energy storage also slowed last year, it added.