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What Next for the Global Car Industry Executive summary
Fundamental shifts are reshaping global car markets The car industry is undergoing profound changes as electric car sales continue to rise and the geography of global car sales shifts. Global car sales approached 80 million in 2024 and have largely bounced back from their pandemic-related slump. Recent growth has been exclusively driven by sales of electric and hybrid cars, which made up around 30% of total car sales in 2024, while global sales of pure internal combustion engine (ICE) cars peaked in 2017 and have since fallen by 30%. By contrast, electric car sales grew more than 14-fold over…
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World Energy Investment 2025 European Union
Energy investment in the European Union has shifted over the past decade to low-emissions generation. Grid investment is key to EU price convergence and market stability In the past decade, the European Union (EU) has increased its commitment to clean energy, with investment reaching almost USD 390 billion in 2025. Investment in low-emissions electricity was driven by the global energy crisis that followed Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, subsequent favourable policy incentives and the declining cost of renewable technologies. In 2024 renewables generated 50% of electricity used in the EU, while fossil fuels accounted…
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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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Gaining an Edge Summary for policymakers
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.Today the world’s industries can produce nearly 20% more value for a given amount of energy than they could two decades ago. This progress has yielded significant benefits at the country level. G20 countries have doubled their economic output…
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World Energy Investment 2025 Africa
Africa is faced with new challenges and opportunities as the composition and source of investment flows in the continent shift Africa is characterised by strong regional imbalances. South Africa and North Africa account for less than 20% of the population but more than 45% of energy investment and over 65% of installed electrical capacity. By contrast, Sub-Saharan Africa, home to most of the region’s population, receives less energy investment and has limited access to reliable electricity. New connection rates have steadily increased since 2000 but remain well below the universal access target set for 2030, with 600 million…
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Financing Electricity Access in Africa Executive summary
Lack of capital presents a major impediment to universal electricity access Nearly two out of every five people in Africa – around 600 million in total – still live without access to electricity. Electrification has barely kept pace with population growth, leaving the continent far behind the targets set by African governments and the international community. Progress in reducing the absolute number of people without access has stalled in recent years, with the rate of improvement failing to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels. Fewer than 19 million people gained access in both 2023 and 2024, compared with 23 million in 2019…
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Investment
This initiative includes a dashboard that offers free data on financing costs for clean energy projects, tools and analysis to help governments identify and address investment risks, and case studies showcasing successful strategies for mobilising capital. This initiative includes a dashboard that offers free data on financing costs for clean energy projects, tools and analysis to help governments identify and address investment risks, and case studies showcasing successful strategies for mobilising capital. Globally, energy investment by governments, households and businesses is expected to reach a new high of $3.3 trillion in 2025. How this spending is allocated has major…
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World Energy Outlook 2025 Executive summary
In a volatile world, energy security takes centre stage Pressing threats and longer term hazards are elevating energy to a core issue of economic and national security. Energy is at the heart of today’s geopolitical tensions, with traditional risks to fuel supply now accompanied by restrictions affecting supplies of critical minerals. The electricity sector – so essential to modern economies – is also increasingly vulnerable to cyber, operational and weather-related hazards.Decisions taken by energy policy makers will be crucial to address these risks, but they do so against a complex backdrop:Geopolitical fragility coexists with subdued oil prices. Ongoing…
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Sheltering From Oil Shocks Targeted consumer support to enhance energy affordability
Many governments around the world are reacting quickly to protect consumers from increasing fuel prices. In the days following the conflict in the Middle East, the IEA has tracked announcements from around 40 countries that are deploying or considering deploying emergency measures to shelter consumers from price increases. Immediate government responses have been to implement price caps, fuel subsidies and shifts in taxation, along with price stabilisation mechanisms that can quickly set limits on consumer price increases. Previous crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2022 energy crisis, demonstrated that impacts often fall disproportionately on the poorer segments of…
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Jobs
Multiple benefits of Energy Efficiency 2025 Energy efficiency provides multiple benefits. This page explores jobs. Why is energy efficiency important for jobs? Investment in energy efficiency creates jobs in a wide range of occupations and geographic locations. Key facts Around 10 million people work in energy efficiency-related jobs globally, representing nearly 15% of all energy-related jobs. Studies indicate that energy efficiency creates between 4 and 22 jobs per USD 1 million invested, depending on economic structure and energy efficiency measure. By lowering energy spending, energy efficiency also helps foster business growth and competitiveness. Energy efficiency offers a wide array of job opportunities…
