Energy efficiency improvements are not moving fast enough to meet the world’s climate targets, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
IEA’s Energy Efficiency 2023 market report, published Nov. 29, finds that policy momentum for energy efficiency continues to build following the global energy crisis set off by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But while policymakers around the world expanded measures to promote energy efficiency in 2023, global improvements in energy intensity – a primary measure of energy efficiency – slowed.
According to the report, this was the result of factors such as an economic rebound in energy-intensive sectors such as petrochemicals and aviation in some regions, as well as booming demand for air conditioning during what is on track to be the hottest year on record.
IEA officials previewed the results Nov. 28 at a press conference hosted by the Enlit Europe conference in Paris.
“We commend policymakers for responding in the right way raising energy efficiency standards, but we see contradictory pressures as well,” said Brian Motherway, Head of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Inclusive Energy Transitions for IEA.
IEA’s analysis has shown that to achieve net zero emissions from the energy sector by 2050, annual improvements in energy efficiency need to double – increasing from a level of 2% in 2022 to more than 4% per year on average between now and 2030.
In 2023, the agency said global energy intensity improved by 1.3%, well below what is needed to achieve this target.
The release of IEA’s report comes on the eve of COP28 in Dubai.
“Our call for [COP28] is to see countries commit to that doubling rate for the rest of this decade,” said Motherway.
The outcome is one of five call to actions IEA plans to make at COP28. Other priority actions to 2030 include tripling global renewable energy capacity, oil and gas companies committing to clean energy transitions, including cutting methane emissions from their operations by 75%, boosting clean energy investment in emerging markets and developing economies and ensuring the orderly decline of fossil fuel use.
Regarding improvements in energy efficiency, there are some positives.
Investments in efficiency have grown by 45% since 2020, and in the past year, countries representing three-quarters of global energy demand have strengthened energy efficiency policies or introduced new ones, IEA said.
For example, almost all countries now have efficiency standards for air conditioners, and the number of countries with standards for industrial motors has tripled within the past decade.
Certain regions and countries have fared better than others.
After improving energy intensity by 8% in 2022, the European Union is set to post a 5% improvement in 2023, IEA said. The United States is also on track for a 4% improvement in 2023.
Since the start of the energy crisis, more than 40 countries in total have improved energy efficiency at a rate of 4% or more for at least one year.
Doubling energy efficiency improvements by 2030 would lower global carbon dioxide emissions by over 7 billion metric tons, equivalent to the emissions from the entire transport sector worldwide today, according to the report.
