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7 certainties about energy for this age of uncertainty
…global economy – such as AI, data centres and high-tech manufacturing – and is increasing its share of major sectors like road transport and heating through technologies such as EVs and heat pumps. Already today, more than half of the investment going into the global energy sector each year is going to electricity. Renewables will keep growing Despite some headwinds, in many countries around the world, renewables are meeting much if not all of the rising demand for electricity, often because they are the most competitive option. Solar is leading the way, as the countries that are increasingly driving energy demand…
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Gas Market Lessons from the 2022-2023 Energy Crisis
…gas prices, including the scale-back in access to energy, the impediment to economic activity and the extra burden on government budgets. Market responses varied but governments were quick to react as the challenges of security of supply became apparent. Post-crisis, markets must continue to adapt as the effects of the crisis continue to influence security of gas supply. Taking stock of this new situation and how to approach it will be key to improving security of gas supply and enhancing the collective resilience to potential future natural gas market shocks. This report aims to do just that, highlighting…
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Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report, 2026
This report is published by the SDG 7 custodian agencies, the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the Statistics Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO), and aims to provide the international community with a global dashboard to register progress on energy access, energy efficiency, renewable energy and international cooperation to advance SDG 7.
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Ensuring a Skilled Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Workforce
…labour shortages. The report identifies barriers which are currently hindering energy education and training. It also discusses policy measures aimed at attracting more people to the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors and providing them with the necessary training. The report includes new IEA analysis on online job postings in renewable energy and energy efficiency, and IEA modelling on energy employment from 2024 as the last full year of data available at the time of publication. The analysis also draws from stakeholder input from two in-person Future of Energy Skills workshops co-ordinated by the IEA and the European…
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IEA Support to Accelerating Renewable Energy Permitting (ARPE)
…Between October 2023 and March 2025, the IEA implemented the “Accelerating Renewable Energy Permitting” (ARPE) action. The goal of ARPE was to support five EU Member states – Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and the Slovak Republic (Focus countries) – in developing and implementing policy and regulatory measures aimed at reaching their renewable energy targets, notably through accelerating permitting of renewable energy projects.In support of this objective, the IEA organised and facilitated five workshops focused on the following topics:streamlining administrative proceduresaccelerating offshore wind deploymentfacilitating spatial planning for renewable energy deploymentensuring public engagement and acceptance, and afinal workshop summarizing the project…
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Energy and AI Energy demand from AI
What is a data centre? Artificial intelligence (AI) model training and deployment occur mainly in data centres. Understanding the role of data centres as actors in the energy system first requires an understanding of their component parts. Data centres are facilities used to house servers, storage systems, networking equipment and associated components that are installed in racks and organised into rows. This IT equipment, and a range of auxiliary equipment required to keep it in working order, comprise the following:Servers are computers that process and store data. They can be equipped with central processing units (CPUs) and specialised accelerators…
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Energy and AI Energy supply for AI
Global electricity supply to meet data centre demand Global electricity generation to supply data centres is projected to grow from 460 TWh in 2024 to over 1 000 TWh in 2030 and 1 300 TWh in 2035 in the Base Case. Over the next five years, renewables meet nearly half of the additional demand, followed by natural gas and coal, with nuclear starting to play an increasingly important role towards the end of this decade and beyond.Coal, with a share of about 30%, is the largest source of electricity, though this varies significantly by region, with the highest contribution found in China. Renewables – primarily wind…
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Energy and AI Understanding the energy-AI nexus
…with the capabilities of AI systems as it considers the outlook for AI adoption. While AI related benchmarks have limitations that necessitate a cautious approach to assessing their implications, they offer a window into the evolving capabilities of AI models that can complement data on real-world deployment. In the energy sector, AI has numerous applications that can improve efficiency, reduce costs and drive innovation. Examples include faster, cheaper and more accurate weather forecasting for predicting the output of wind and solar PV plants, real-time monitoring and optimisation of transmission lines, and the use of AI to discover new…
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Energy and AI AI for energy optimisation and innovation
…AI-led interventions, as it factors in certain insurmountable structural issues that would block their complete adoption. For example, we consider variations in adoption by region by factoring in the availability of enabling digital infrastructure. AI applications for optimising energy systems Oil and gas companies have been among the earliest adopters of new technologies to boost exploration and production. In 2000, 11 supercomputers operated by oil and gas companies ranked among the world’s 500 fastest. By 2024, this number had increased to 24, and total computing capacity has grown at almost 70% annually, outpacing the broader supercomputing industry. AI…
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Energy and AI AI and energy security
…the energy sector has become more electrified, digitalised and connected, it has also grown increasingly vulnerable to cybersecurity threats. This vulnerability is compounded by the presence of legacy information technology infrastructure, automation, cloud computing and reliance on third-party vendors that might not have secure systems.AI acts as a force multiplier in both directions, enhancing threat detection and enabling more responsive protection on the one hand while simultaneously empowering adversaries with tools for sophisticated attacks on the other. AI applications can enable real-time threat detection, automated responses to incidents and enhanced phishing defences. On the flip side, AI…