IEA member countries continue to put the energy transition and the fight against climate change at the heart of the organisation's energy security mandate, energy and climate ministers said today.
"This agency was set up to provide energy security for our people and the key question we have to ask is what is the definition of energy security today," Ireland's environment minister Eamon Ryan and co-chair of the IEA said.
The organisation was created 50 years ago in response to the 1970s oil price shock to ensure reliable energy supplies, relying on its stockholding system.
Ministers have reaffirmed today the "foundational and central mission" of the IEA for global energy security, but also acknowledged that the impact of climate change, the transition to clean energy and "the characteristics of clean energy technologies" are changing the meaning behind secure energy systems because "the scope of energy security evolves from coal, oil and gas to other energy sources and carriers".
"We underscore again that energy and climate security are inextricably linked and emphasise that clean energy transitions ensure energy security," the ministers' communique read.
The goal now is to develop alternative renewable clean energy efficient systems that provide security, Ryan said, pointing out that the so-called "IEA family" — comprising members, accession countries and association countries — accounts for 80pc of global energy consumption.
He said that countries need to work at G7 and G20 levels, but also at UN assemblies in order to combine financing mechanisms with clear Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) — climate targets — by the UN Cop 29 and 30 climate summits in Baku and Brazil to deliver on the energy transition.
The 31 IEA members called on "the IEA to continue to put climate change and sustainable development along with energy security at the centre of its activities and analysis". They acknowledged that "no new unabated coal power plant should be built" and noted that "in a scenario that hits global net zero emissions by 2050, declines in demand are sufficiently steep that no new long lead-time conventional oil and gas projects are required", as per the IEA's Net Zero Roadmap.
"That is the wording from [Cop 28 in] Dubai with more precise language," Ryan said. The summit concluded in December with an agreement from nearly 200 countries to transition away from fossil fuels and to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030.
He said a more inclusive approach was needed to support energy transition goals, highlighting India's role in pushing for the renewable capacity target at G20. Commenting on India seeking IEA membership, and whether the country would need to become a member of the OECD, he said that "mechanisms will have to be discussed" and that the world has to be more ambitious on "how we co-operate on energy and climate".
"In the face of Russia's unprovoked aggression against Ukraine and ongoing conflict in Gaza, we recognise the persistent threat to global energy security," the ministers said, adding that they remain "resolute" in their efforts to reduce reliance on Russian energy and commodities.
They asked the IEA to continue to monitor risks to shipping of energy, including in the Strait of Hormuz, and confirmed their "readiness to act in solidarity through the IEA mechanism in the event of supply disruptions". IEA members need to have crude and/or oil product reserves equal to 90 days of the previous year's net imports.
"We will redouble our efforts to lead the fight against climate change in the energy sector, while ensuring the security of global energy supplies and working to increase energy access throughout the transition," the agency's director Fatih Birol said.
