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Gaining an Edge
The Role of Energy Efficiency in Enhancing Competitiveness Energy efficiency delivers more than energy savings and emission reductions – it can also improve the competitiveness of countries and firms. From increased profitability to job creation, energy efficiency helps firms compete amid high costs, growing demand, and rising trade pressures. In today’s global context, energy efficiency is not only a matter of energy policy, but also of economic policy.The report analyses historical progress in industrial energy efficiency and its role in enhancing industrial competitiveness. It includes comparisons of firm-level energy efficiency, identifying performance gaps and opportunities for further improvement. Drawing…
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Financing Clean Energy in Africa Clean energy investment landscape: setting the scene
…hikes, this has driven up debt servicing costs, which are now double the level of clean energy investment across the continent as a whole. Energy sector-specific risks vary significantly by country, technology and financing provider. One of the primary difficulties for utility-scale renewable or grid projects has been offtaker risk, with only about one in three utilities in Africa able to cover their operational and debt servicing costs. This increases transmission risk due to underinvestment in grid infrastructure. Decentralised solutions play a critical role, but advancing them can face regulatory hurdles or finance ill-adapted to supporting them.
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What Next for the Global Car Industry Global car industry manufacturing clusters
Regions with strong car industries tend to operate as clusters in which supplier factories are located alongside those of parts manufacturers and material producers. This is because close co-ordination between automakers and a wide network of specialised suppliers is essential to keep costs low. Such production ecosystems also facilitate the rapid exchange of complex, often tacit, knowledge, especially during vehicle development phases where design, engineering and manufacturing decisions must be tightly aligned. This interactive map shows global data on car assembly location, as well as more detailed regional automotive clusters.
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Scaling Up Demand Flexibility
From peak management to efficient system operation This report has been developed as part of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Digital Demand-Driven Electricity Networks (3DEN) initiative to examine the growing importance of demand flexibility in electricity systems amid rising demand, increased renewable energy integration and the electrification of power systems. Case studies in chronological order to examine the changing role of demand flexibility over time from South Africa (2025), Thailand (2030) and Ireland (2035) demonstrate how demand flexibility improves reliability, reduces costs, supports renewables integration and manages network constraints. To realise these benefits, the report emphasises the role for…
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Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe holds large coal reserves and production is set to increase. The country has also significantly untapped its hydropower potential, even though the share of hydropower generation is gradually decreasing.
- Overview
- Energy mix
- Emissions
- Electricity
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+ 5 pages
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Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report, 2025
Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report, 2025 Since its inception in 2018, Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report has become the global reference for information on progress toward the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The aim of SDG 7 is to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.” This report therefore summarizes global progress on electricity access, clean cooking, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and international cooperation to advance SDG 7. It presents updated statistics for each of the indicators and provides policy insights on…
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Delivering Sustainable Fuels
Pathways to 2035 Sustainable fuels – including liquid biofuels, biogases, low-emissions hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels – offer multiple benefits for the energy sector. They complement electrification and energy efficiency in energy transitions, and are particularly important for sectors that continue to be reliant on fuel-based solutions such as aviation, shipping, and parts of road transport and industry. Sustainable fuels can also enhance energy security, strengthen environmental sustainability and stimulate economic development, particularly in rural areas.If fully legislated and implemented, current and proposed national and international policies would put the use of sustainable liquid and gaseous fuels on a…
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Colombia
Colombia launched the Energy Plan 2050 in 2016 , which aims to diversify the country’s energy resources and ensure a reliable energy supply by including wind power plants, solar PV and geothermal energy generation in the country's electric mix.
- Overview
- Energy mix
- Emissions
- Electricity
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+ 5 pages
![Colombia Flag]()
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Global Hydrogen Review 2026 Cost acceptability
Analysis of the costs of hydrogen in different end-uses enables identification of the maximum acceptable costs for hydrogen users, i.e. the maximum amount that can be spent on the hydrogen feedstock within a low-emissions pathway while maintaining the same total levelised cost of production as the incumbent pathway to produce the same commodity.This can enable policy makers and investors to identify sectors with both high maximum acceptable hydrogen costs and high potential volumes that can serve as lead markets for low-emissions hydrogen. Cost acceptability can be influenced by policies and depends on technologies, fuels and…
