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Directorate of Global Energy Dialogue (GED)

The Directorate of Global Energy Dialogue (GED) works with member and non-member countries to promote co-operation and dialogues on all aspects of energy policy and technology.  One of its important functions is to promote closer engagement between the IEA and major energy consumer, producer, or transit countries which are not IEA members (“dialogue” countries).  Non-member countries can and do already participate as full members in the IEA network of energy technology  Implementing Agreements.  Dialogue countries have also been invited, from time to time, to participate as observers in IEA Committee meetings.  In addition to its outreach work, GED co-ordinates regular In-Depth Reviews in which the energy policies of each IEA member are “peer reviewed” by experts from other member countries. 

GED supports the work of and is guided by the Agency’s Standing Group on Global Energy Dialogue (SGD), Standing Group on Long-Term Policy Co-operation (SLT) and Committee on Energy Research and Technology (CERT). The Directorate has four divisions:

1. DALSA works with dialogue countries in Asia Pacific, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa
2. DEMA similarly works with dialogue countries in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa
3. Country Studies Division (CSD) co-ordinates In-Depth Reviews

DALSA and DEMA

The IEA has long been working with countries beyond the current membership. As the changing global energy economy demands, all Directorates and Divisions of the Secretariat have at least some part of their work related to dialogue countries. DALSA and DEMA, as strategic planners, co-ordinators, and advisors within the Secretariat facilitate and build deeper relations between the IEA and dialogue countries. 

The IEA has developed strong ties with a range of dialogue countries in Europe including Russia, Central Asia, Middle East, Asia/Pacific, including China and India, Southeast Asian countries, Latin America, including Brazil, Mexico, and Chile, and Africa, including South Africa.  Among them, China, India and Russia are first priority countries. The IEA also maintains a close dialogue with oil producing countries, including OPEC members and the OPEC Secretariat.  It supports the work of the International Energy Forum Secretariat (IEF) -- including serving on its Executive Board -- in fostering wide multinational producer-consumer dialogue, and participates in the biennial IEF Ministerial summits.  

The IEA advances collaboration and information exchanges, holding workshops and conferences, providing training at the IEA or in dialogue countries, conducting joint projects, and/or providing policy recommendations in energy policy reviews.  The following are the main areas of collaboration:  

• energy data and statistics
• oil supply security and emergency preparedness
• market analysis
• policy reviews and surveys
• energy statistics and data
• energy indicators
• modelling and scenario analysis
• energy efficiency  
• technology co-operation  
• climate change and environmental instruments

Details of the bilateral dialogue and programmes with specific countries and regions can be viewed under the country and region pages on the IEA web site.

Country Studies Division (CSD)

Approximately every four years, the energy policies of individual member countries undergo an In-Depth Review by their peers. In intervening years, brief standard reviews update the main energy policy developments and report on progress in implementing the recommendations of the In-Depth Reviews. All of the reviews are published, and there is an annual synthesis report highlighting important cross-cutting policy issues.  Recent reviews were completed on Japan, Sweden and – for the first time – the European Union.

Increasingly, the IEA is now offering focused reviews or full In-Depth Reviews to governments in dialogue countries who request this.