IEA releases “World Energy Investment Report 2021”

What is the News?
The International Energy Agency(IEA) has released the World Energy Investment Report 2021.

About the World Energy Investment Report 2021:

• The report presents the latest data and analysis of how energy investment flows are recovering from the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic. This includes full-year outlook estimates for 2021. 

Key Findings of the World Energy Investment Report 2021:

• Global energy investments are set to recover by nearly 10% in 2021 to $1.9 trillion reversing the decline in 2020.
  • However, the energy transition is moving more funds toward electricity and renewables and away from fossil fuels.
• Power Sector: Global Power Sector which saw flat investments in 2020 is set to receive the highest ever funding i.e. up by about 5% to more than $820 billion. Among them, Renewables are forecast to account for 70% of the total.
• Fossil Fuels: The technologies like Carbon Capture and Storage(CCS) are yet to attain commercial success. So, the investments in oil are expected to grow by about 10%.
• Coal Sector: The approvals for coal-fired plants are some 80% below where they were five years ago. But coal is not out of the picture as there is a slight increase in coal-fired plants in 2020 driven by China and some other Asian economies.
• The Energy efficiency sector will also see a substantial rise (10%) in investment. But the low fossil fuel price may act as a deterrent.
  • Energy Efficiency refers to a method of reducing energy consumption by using less energy to attain the same amount of useful output.
• Increase in Emissions: The present scenarios will not deter the increase in carbon dioxide emission after the contraction in 2020. The Global emission is set to grow by 1.5 billion tonnes in 2021.
• Net Zero Plan: The commitments to the Net Zero plan is gaining momentum, but its transition to actual action is not visible.
  • Net-zero emission is the method of balancing the greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere by the greenhouse gas absorption from the atmosphere.

Suggestions provided by the World Energy Investment Report 2021:

• Clean energy investment would need to double in the coming years to maintain temperatures well below a 2 °C rise. It needs to be more than triple in order to keep the door open for a 1.5 °C stabilisation.
• A democratic decision-making process and de-corporatisation of the energy sector is the need of the future for the survival of civilization on this planet.

Source: Down To Earth