Laser Talk: IEA’s first 1.5°C-aligned scenario bolsters the call for no new fossil fuel extraction

Laser Talk: IEA’s first 1.5°C-aligned scenario bolsters the call for no new fossil fuel extraction

On May 18, 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released a special report, “Net Zero in 2050: A roadmap for the global energy system,” that represents the agency’s first ever effort to model a comprehensive energy pathway towards limiting global warming to 1.5 °C.

What would a major global plan to quickly halt climate change look like? Nations around the world would immediately stop approving new coal-burning power plants and oil fields. They would phase out sales of new gasoline-powered cars in 15 years. And they would start building the equivalent of the world’s largest solar farm every single day for the next decade.

Those are the conclusions of the International Energy Agency (IEA). On May 18, 2021, they issued a detailed road map for how the world’s nations could slash their planet-warming greenhouse-gas emissions to net zero by midcentury — a goal that could help avert the worst effects of climate change.

This report is significant because it is not an appeal from environmentalists. The International Energy Agency is a major global organization that advises world capitals on energy policy.Their reports are widely used by companies and investors as a basis for long-term planning. And the agency is loudly warning that governments need to think much, much bigger if they want to keep climate change under control.

UPDATE: Ahead of summit, more than 100 economists call on G7 countries to commit to shift their finance out of all fossil fuels this year, to enable a green pandemic recovery
https://news.trust.org/item/20210608180631-eogrp/

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