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Economic growth
Multiple benefits of Energy Efficiency 2025 Energy efficiency provides multiple benefits. This page explores economic growth. Why is energy efficiency important for economic growth? Energy efficiency allows countries to generate more economic activity using the same amount of energy. It is also linked to increased labour productivity and other economic benefits. Key facts Compared with 2000, today’s global economy produces 36% more GDP per unit of energy. Energy efficiency progress over the last 20 years means that close to an extra USD 50 trillion can today be produced using the same amount of energy. This energy efficiency bonus is equivalent to…
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Household Energy Affordability: Data and Indicators
A methodological framework for national monitoring Effective policy requires robust monitoring of household energy affordability, yet no unified methodological approach currently exists. The upcoming IEA report Household Energy Affordability: Data and Indicators, to be published in July, addresses this gap. This executive summary presents its key elements, including a robust methodological framework structured around dimensions, indicators and data to support policy discussions and national monitoring efforts.
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Demand and Supply Measures for the Steel and Cement Transition
The case for international co-ordination A massive scale-up of markets for transformative near-zero emissions steel and cement is needed to achieve internationally agreed net zero goals. Yet early movers on both the supply- and demand-side – that is, material producers and consumers – face substantial barriers related to high costs and risks, among other factors. This has led to relatively slow market growth for near-zero emissions materials, at a moment when reinvesting in long-lived high-emissions production could have repercussions for governments to achieve their stated climate goals. Policy makers have the opportunity to play a…
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Designing Energy Efficiency Policies to Enhance Affordability
Examples from G7 countries Energy affordability has emerged as a critical concern in the context of rising global energy prices and growing inequality in energy access. Lower-income households spend a significantly higher share of their income on energy than wealthier households, leaving them exposed to price shocks and especially vulnerable when energy prices increase. Energy efficiency can play a key role in delivering lower energy bills, reducing emissions, and enhancing resilience. However, ensuring that all households benefit requires targeted, inclusive policy design.This issue was a central focus of an IEA workshop held in January 2025 with G7 country…
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Advancing Methane Emissions Reductions by National Oil Companies
National oil companies (NOCs) are responsible for around half of all global oil and gas production today and their actions strongly influence methane abatement prospects. More than 30 NOCs have joined the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC) and are engaging in initiatives to tackle methane emissions and flaring. There is a major opportunity for NOCs looking to implement best practices in methane management to learn from the experience of peers in order to deploy strategies that are adapted and tailored to their circumstances. Best practices include adopting measures to limit flaring and venting, implementing leak detection and repair programmes…
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Global Methane Tracker 2026
Around the world, many countries have made reductions in methane emissions a policy priority as part of their efforts to limit near-term global warming, enhance energy security, and improve air quality. The energy sector – including oil, natural gas, coal and bioenergy – accounts for around 40% of methane emissions from human activity and has some of the best opportunities to cut these emissions. The annually updated Global Methane Tracker provides essential data on methane emissions across the energy sector and the opportunities to bring them down.The Tracker presents the IEA’s latest sector-wide emissions estimates – based on the…
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Overview graphic: key technology trends for EVs
GEVO 2026 - Chapter 8 Electric vehicles (EVs) are increasingly at the centre of innovation in the automotive sector, bringing advances that extend far beyond developments in batteries and power electronics, thanks to several mutually reinforcing factors. Key technology trends are aligning in favour of EVs Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are mechanically simpler than internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) or hybrids, making them more compatible with digitalisation and automation. The relative simplicity of electric drivetrains enables shorter development cycles for new vehicles, allowing emerging technologies to reach BEVs sooner than vehicles with other powertrains.While the transition from mechanical to software…
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Energy savings
Multiple benefits of Energy Efficiency 2025 Energy efficiency provides multiple benefits. This page explores energy savings. Why is energy efficiency important for energy savings? Energy efficiency measures reduce the amount of energy required to fuel and grow our economies. In economies where energy demand is set to grow significantly, efficiency also helps improve people’s lives by increasing access to additional energy services. Key facts In the last two decades, efficiency measures have generated over 27 EJ of energy savings in IEA countries alone, equivalent to 20% of total energy demand.The industry (including manufacturing) and services (including commercial buildings) sectors…
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What Next for the Global Car Industry
An Energy Technology Perspectives Special Report The global car industry has operated under relatively stable conditions for decades. The world’s largest car manufacturers are based in the European Union, Korea, Japan and the United States, and – more recently – in China, and the car industry is a major contributor to the economy in these countries. The strength of many of these car makers is built on decades at the forefront of technological innovation around the internal combustion engine (ICE), as well as highly integrated and optimised supply chains that allow for vehicles and their components to be produced at low…
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Policy Toolbox for Industrial Decarbonisation
The Policy Toolbox for Industrial Decarbonisation is a repository of policy instruments available to assist governments as they design, develop and implement their strategies for industrial decarbonisation. This work, undertaken as part of the Climate Club's Work Programme, builds on the policy toolbox outlined in IEA’s 2022 Achieving Net Zero Heavy Industry Sectors in G7 Members report, with the addition of further details on the instruments and considerations for implementation.A robust industrial decarbonisation policy strategy is likely to include multiple different instruments, as governments choose the instruments that are most suited to their individual circumstances and objectives…
