While progress is being made on renewable energy, most clean energy technologies are not being deployed quickly enough, Deputy Executive Director Ambassador Richard H. Jones of the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) said this week.

Ambassador Jones presented an annual progress report at the Clean Energy (News - Alert) Ministerial (CEM3) in Central London—a two-day meeting attended by delegates of 23 member nations that together account for four-fifths of global energy demandThe good news, according to the 12-month assessment, Tracking Clean Energy Progress, is that two major clean energy technologies—wind and solar generation— are on track now  to meet the 2DS objectives, which would limit global warming to 2°C (35.6°F) above preindustrial levels by 2025. Costs in both sectors are going down and annual growth is up, at 27 percent for onshore wind and 42 percent solar photovoltaic deployments. “This is positive,” the report concludes, “but maintaining this progress will be challenging.”

The bad news is that the technologies with the greatest potential for energy and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions savings are making the slowest progress:

• Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is not seeing the necessary rates of investment into full-scale demonstration projects;
• Nearly one-half of new coal-fired power plants are still being built with inefficient technology;
• Vehicle fuel-efficiency improvement is slow; and
• Significant untapped energy-efficiency potential remains in the building and industry sectors.

A faltering global economy may be largely responsible. The transition to a low-carbon energy sector is affordable and represents tremendous business opportunities, said the IEA representative, but investor confidence remains low, due to government policies that do not provide certainty or address key barriers to technology deployment. He noted that private-sector financing will reach the levels required only if governments create and maintain a supportive business environment for low-carbon energy technologies.

“We have a responsibility and a golden opportunity to act,” said Ambassador Jones. “Energy-related CO2 emissions are at historic highs; under current policies, we estimate that energy use and CO2 emissions would increase by a third by 2020, and almost double by 2050. This would likely send global temperatures at least 6°C higher. Such an outcome would confront future generations with significant economic, environmental and energy security hardships – a legacy that I know none of us wishes to leave behind.”He stressed the positive role the CEM can play in improving the situation. “The ministers meeting this week in London have an incredible opportunity before them,” he said. “It is my hope that they heed our warning of insufficient progress, and act to seize the security, economic, and environmental benefits that a clean-energy transition can bring.”The report offers three over-arching policy recommendations for changing this status quo and moving clean-energy technologies to the mainstream market:

• First, level the playing field for clean energy technologies. This means ensuring that energy prices reflect the “true cost” of energy – accounting for the positive and negative impacts of energy production and consumption;
• Second, unlock the potential of energy efficiency, the “hidden fuel” of the future. Making sure that energy is not wasted and that it is used in the best possible way is the most cost-effective action and must be the first step of any policy aimed at building a sustainable energy mix;
• Finally, accelerate energy innovation; and public support for research, development, and demonstration. This will help lay the groundwork for private-sector innovation and speed technologies to market.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is an autonomous organization that works to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its 28 member countries and beyond. Founded in response to the 1973–1974 oil crisis, the IEA’s initial role was to help countries coordinate a collective response to major disruptions in oil supply through the release of emergency oil stocks to the markets. While this continues to be a key aspect of its work, the IEA has evolved and expanded. It is at the heart of global dialogue on energy, providing reliable and unbiased research, statistics, analysis and recommendations.