The International Energy Agency says global energy emissions will likely peak in 2025 as surging prices due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine propel investment in renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
"The global energy crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine is causing profound and long-lasting changes that have the potential to hasten the transition to a more sustainable and secure energy system," the IEA said as it released its latest annual World Energy Outlook report.
Energy markets and policies have changed "not just for the time being, but for decades to come," said IEA executive director Fatih Birol in a statement on Thursday.
Only last year, the Paris-based organisation, which advises energy-consuming nations said there was "no clear peak in sight" in energy emissions.
However, the new higher investment in wind and solar is setting up demand for fossil fuels to peak or plateau, leading to a drop in emissions.
Based on the latest measures and policies announced by governments in the face of soaring energy prices, the IEA forecasts global clean energy investment to rise by more than 50 percent from today's levels to $2 trillion per year by 2030.
Those measures will propel sustained gains in renewables and nuclear power.
Coal, gas, oil in decline
Global energy-related CO2 emissions are set to fall back slowly from a high point of 37 billion tonnes per year to 32 billion tonnes by 2050, it added.
Coal use, which has seen a temporary bump higher, will drop back in the next few years as more renewables come online.
According to the agency, natural gas will hit a plateau in the end of the decade, instead of the previous forecast of a steady rise.
Oil demand is set to level off in the mid-2030s and then gradually decline towards mid-century due to uptake of electric vehicles, instead of the earlier estimate of a steady increase.
Overall, the share of fossil fuels in the global energy mix in the IEA's stated policies scenario falls from around 80 percent to just above 60 percent by 2050.
The @IEA World Energy Outlook 2022 is out.
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A major focus of the report is on how to meet the climate goals.
Great visualisation of the pathway to net zero.
Full report available for free here: https://t.co/3XZiQaEkZ0 pic.twitter.com/JVAmMh2IuE
Clean energy investments must triple
But that will still leave the world on track for a rise in global temperatures of around 2.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, which would likely trigger severe climate change impacts.
The IEA also has a scenario to arrive at zero net emissions in 2050, which is seen as necessary to hit the 1.5C warming target enshrined in the Paris climate pact.
That would require clean energy investments to rise to $4 trillion per year by 2030, instead of the current forecast of $2 trillion.
"The IEA, with all its expertise and authority is clear: clean energy investments must triple by 2030, and gas is a dead end," said Laurence Tubiana, head of the European Climate Foundation and France's former climate ambassador.
"The current European energy crisis clearly proves the dangers of gas: high price, volatility, geopolitical dependence."
(with wires)
