-
Electricity Market Design Executive summary
Electricity systems are changing fast, and market design must evolve with them Electricity systems are undergoing rapid structural change, increasing the need for market frameworks that keep pace with evolving operational and investment requirements and possibilities. Electricity is central to modern economies, and its role is expanding as consumption patterns shift, digitalisation accelerates, energy systems decentralise, and variable resources grow. Across major regions, these trends are increasing the complexity of real-time operations and reshaping investment dynamics. Short-term and seasonal flexibility needs are projected to grow faster than demand over the next decade, while electrification in many sectors is…
-
Demand and Supply Measures for the Steel and Cement Transition Executive summary
The seeds for producing and using near-zero emissions materials have been planted, but acceleration is needed The industry sector requires a massive scale-up of markets for transformative near-zero emissions materials to contribute to the achievement of internationally-agreed government objectives for net zero emissions. Such scale-up requires the production and use of these materials to grow from essentially zero today to capture nearly the entire market within the next few decades, shifting away from high-emissions conventional production and demand. The steel and cement sectors account for 14% of global energy and process-related emissions on…
-
Ensuring a Strong Labour Dimension for Just and Inclusive Energy Transitions Just and Inclusive Energy Transitions
…and to ensure that the transitions are fair, inclusive, and people-centred. The IEA Clean Energy Labour Council shares these policy considerations with international policy makers as well as the G20 and COP30 Presidencies. Clean Energy Transitions: the role of energy workers Workers are at the heart of the energy system, with around 67.5 million people working in the sector in 2023 and an estimated 2 million additional jobs created in 2024. These millions of skilled workers are central to securing a safe, reliable, and sustainable energy supply, and in turn, ensuring energy security worldwide.While this paper will focus mostly on the…
-
Cost of Capital Observatory Dashboard
Overview The dashboard is a free resource that provides data on the cost of capital focused on clean energy projects in emerging and developing economies. It also provides information of the main underlying risks perceived by investors and financiers in each country as well as case studies. We hope these resources will help drive policy changes that can lower financing costs in the parts of the world that most need it. For additional information on how to estimate the cost of capital, this IEA article highlights the importance of financing costs in the energy transition, defines what financing costs are (also commonly…
-
Critical Mineral Traceability for Energy and Economic Security Executive summary
Risks to energy and economic security from high levels of concentration in critical mineral supply chains became a reality in 2025. All of the IEA’s six focus minerals – copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and rare earth elements – are set to see strong demand growth, driven by their central role in energy and strategic industrial applications. Yet diversification has lagged demand, with processing and refining remaining highly concentrated. Risks from concentration materialised in 2025 as new export controls threatened the supply of materials critical to strategic and economically important industries.Recent years have seen a proliferation of new policies and…
-
Global Energy and Climate Model Policies
Policies database Underpinning the scenario analysis of the GEC Model, an extensive effort is made to update and expand the list of energy and climate-related policies and measures that feed into our modelling. Assumptions about government policies are critical to this analysis and are the main reason for the differences in outcomes across the scenarios. A summary of some of the key policy targets and measures for different sectors by selected countries and regions can be found in the Annex B of WEO-2025.Although all care has been taken to ensure accuracy, completeness and clarity of content in…
-
Energy Efficiency 2025 Transport
How and where is energy used? Total final consumption in 2024 was over 450 EJ and has grown by around 25 EJ since 2019. Transport accounts for around 30% of global energy demand and have contributed around 10% of the growth in total demand since 2019. Road transport accounts for nearly 90% of total domestic energy demand. The remaining 10% is split between domestic aviation, domestic shipping and rail.In advanced economies, passenger cars dominate road transport demand, accounting for around 65% of the transport energy use. Trucks make up most of the remainder. Buses play a minor role in energy demand…
-
China’s Official Energy Finance in Emerging and Developing Economies Trends in China’s Outbound Energy Finance
…composition and institutional drivers of official financing, with aggregate figures presented up to 2024. Together, these trends reveal how China’s role as an energy financier is evolving – from a gradual decline of traditional policy-bank lending to the rise of more commercial-oriented official providers – and what this means for investment patterns across EMDE. Overall financing trends China’s official outbound financing for energy is a visible part of the investment landscape in EMDE. Between 2015 and 2024, Chinese official institutions committed around USD 565 billion cumulatively to energy projects in EMDE abroad: USD 335 billion to fossil fuels and…
-
Coal Mid-Year Update 2025 Supply
…stock building in 2024. Mongolia’s production jumped by 21% as Chinese import demand strengthened. South African production increased by 1%, as power outages impacted growth of domestic coal demand. Despite sluggish coal demand, 2025 is set to be another record year for coal production In 2025, we expect global coal production to rise slightly to 9.2 Bt, setting a new record. This increase is once again led by China and India, with China’s output growing by 6% year-on-year during the first six months of the year. However, the same period in 2024 marked a low…
-
Energy Efficiency 2024 How can energy efficiency alleviate rising heatwave-driven electricity demand?
…reached 43°C, resulting in record electricity demand in Serbia and Croatia. In sub-Saharan Africa, where AC ownership is low, prolonged droughts combined with severe heat events caused power system outages and rolling blackouts throughout 2024. Electricity demand in emerging economies continues growing at a record pace, fuelled by new air conditioner installations World electricity consumption is forecast to grow by 4% in 2024, with increased cooling demand in EMDEs a major driver. India’s electricity consumption is expected to grow by over 8% this year, amid fast economic growth and rapid electrification paired with record cooling demand. While many…
