IEA’s Electricity Market Report

January 21, 2022

The International Energy Agency (IEA) released its early 2022 edition of the bi-annual Electricity Market Report.

Key facts of the report

As per report, countries are largely turning to fossil fuels for meeting the increase in electricity demand, as Covid-19 lockdown restrictions are lowering down.
Global electricity demand increased by 6% year-on-year in 2021. It was the steepest year-on-year increase recorded by the IEA since 2008 financial crash.
Global energy intensity decreased by 1.9% year-on-year. This drop was only half as compared to the level required to lay foundation for net-zero by 2050.
In 2021, the electricity generation from renewables increased by 6% year-on-year. Generation from coal was increased by 9%. This increase was led by markets like China and India, where coal served as greater than half of the increase in demand.
There was an increase of 2% in gas-fired generation. This increase resulted into a 7% year-on-year increase in emissions from power sector.

What are IEA’s concerns?

The IEA is concerned because, despite the growing net-zero movement, countries are failing to decouple increased electricity demands from increased emissions.
According to IEA, power sector emissions will remain around the same level, for next three years.
Net-zero by 2050 scenario of IEA, call for a 55% decrease in sectoral emissions by 2030, as opposed to 2019 baseline.

About International Energy Agency (IEA)

IEA was established in 1974 in accordance with the framework of the OECD. It is an autonomous intergovernmental organisation. The mission of IEA is guided by four main areas of focus, namely energy security, environmental awareness, economic development and engagement worldwide. It is headquartered in Paris, France. India became an associate member of IEA in March 2017.

Why was IEA established?

IEA was established in the backdrop of 1973-1974 oil crisis in a bid to help its members respond to major oil supply disruptions.

Members of IEA

IEA has 30 members, currently. IEA family also comprise of eight association countries. To be a member of IEA, the candidate country must be a member the OECD. However, all OECD members are not IEA members.

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