On Thursday 30 May, the International Energy Agency (IEA) published a report entitled ‘Strategies for Affordable and Fair Clean Energy Transitions’. This report demonstrates that accelerating the uptake of clean energy technologies can improve energy affordability and ease pressures on the cost of living.
According to the document, putting the world on a path to zero net emissions by 2050 requires additional investment. Nevertheless, these investments could reduce the operating costs of the global energy system by more than half over the next decade compared with current policies. The net result is a more affordable and fairer energy system for consumers.
Clean energy technologies are often more cost-competitive over their lifetime than those using conventional fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil. Solar photovoltaic and wind power are the least expensive options for new energy production.
However, realising these benefits would depend on the ability to unlock higher levels of initial investment, particularly in emerging and developing economies where clean energy investment is lagging due to perceived or real risks. Fossil fuel subsidies, which amounted to around $620 billion in 2023 – compared with $70 billion for clean energy investments – are also complicating the transition.
The rapid growth in renewable energies, such as solar and wind power, could benefit consumers thanks to lower operating costs and electricity prices that are less volatile than those of petroleum products. Furthermore, by 2035, electricity is expected to overtake oil as the main source of final consumption.
The report recommends a series of measures to make clean technologies more accessible, including energy renovation programmes for low-income households, subsidies for efficient appliances and clean transport, and the reallocation of fossil fuel subsidies to targeted cash transfers for the most vulnerable. Finally, it warns of potential risks, such as geopolitical tensions and cyber attacks, highlighting the need for investment in the digital security of energy systems.
Read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/cg9 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)