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Energy Efficiency Policy Toolkit Appliances
Introduction Appliances represent 45% of electricity demand in buildings and are responsible for almost 3 gigatons (Gt) of CO₂ emissions. Doubling the global annual energy intensity improvement by 2030 would require appliances to become 30% to 40% more efficient. An integrated policy approach combining regulation, information and incentives is the most effective way to achieve this goal. Regulations such as minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) can ensure that the least efficient equipment is not sold on the market. MEPS also encourage suppliers to increase the efficiency of the appliances they produce, accelerating the improvement of efficiency on the market. In…
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Energy Efficiency 2024 Does a heat pump work in a house with poor insulation?
Even with poor insulation, heat pumps still save energy As well as reducing CO2 emissions, a heat pump can use three to five times less energy than an efficient gas boiler. However, an often-heard argument when considering replacing a gas boiler is that the house needs to be well-insulated for the heat pump to work. Heat pumps do work best in a well-insulated house because their heat output is at a lower temperature than a traditional boiler, and they perform best when providing a consistent heat output with minimal heat losses. If a house loses a lot…
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Energy Efficiency 2024 How can energy efficiency alleviate rising heatwave-driven electricity demand?
Another year of high temperatures leads to new electricity demand records and power outages Global temperatures have reached new heights in recent years. 2023 was the warmest year on record, and 2024 is on track to beat it. The frequency and intensity of heatwaves are increasing, causing extreme temperatures of up to 50ºC in some regions, with multiple national temperature records broken during 2024. Ensuring that cooling needs are met is of primary importance. The extreme temperatures are driving strong demand for much-needed cooling technologies such as air conditioners. However, these are also pushing up electricity use to record…
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Energy Efficiency Policy Toolkit Buildings
Introduction Buildings account for about 30% of final energy consumption globally and more than half of electricity consumption. Doubling the global annual energy intensity improvement by 2030 would require buildings to become more efficient rapidly. An integrated policy approach combining regulation, information and incentives is the most effective way to achieve this goal. Regulatory standards such as building energy codes are among the most effective policies to not only boost energy performance and reduce emissions, but also to improve occupants' health, comfort and productivity – while enhancing climate resilience and mitigating energy price fluctuations. Buildings built after a code is introduced can…
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Timur Gül
Chief Energy Technology Officer. Timur Gül, a German national, was appointed Chief Energy Technology Officer of the International Energy Agency (IEA) in October 2023. In this capacity, he oversees IEA analysis of innovative new and emerging clean energy technologies and their supply chains across a range of sectors. Mr. Gül is also Head of the Energy Technology Policy Division, with responsibility for the IEA’s flagship technology publication Energy Technology Perspectives, the IEA Energy Innovation Forum, the IEA’s Technology and Innovation Advisory Board as well as the IEA’s Technology Collaboration network.Having joined the IEA in 2009, Mr. Gül previously was a lead author of the IEA’s World Energy Outlook (WEO). Prior to his time at the IEA, he was a researcher at Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland.Timur Gül holds a PhD from the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (ETH) Zurich in Switzerland. He also holds a Master degree in Environmental Engineering from the Royal ...
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Global Energy and Climate Model Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS)
The Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS) has a long pedigree in the International Energy Agency (IEA) family of scenarios. It was introduced in 2019 with this name, but it has much in common with the previous New Policies Scenario that dates back to the 2010 edition of the World Energy Outlook (WEO). The intention of this scenario is to reflect the prevailing direction of travel for the energy system based on a detailed reading of the latest policy settings in countries around the world. It takes into account specific energy, climate and related industrial policies that have been adopted or put…
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World Energy Investment 2025 India
India is working to diversify its power generation mix by promoting investment in renewables and nuclear to meet sharply rising electricity demand Electricity demand in India has been rising sharply due to increases in commercial and residential space, a surge in ownership of air conditioners and appliances, and rising demand from industry. India has seen the third-largest growth in power generation capacity in the world after China and the United States over the past five years. While growth in power generation has come from all sources, there has been a surge in investment in renewables, led by solar PV…
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Global Energy Review 2026 CO2 emissions
Energy sector emissions continued to rise in 2025, but regional trends varied markedly Global growth in energy-related CO2 emissions slowed in 2025, rising by around 0.4%, the slowest rate since 2021. Despite this slowdown, total energy-related CO2 emissions increased by around 145 million tonnes (Mt) in 2025, reaching a new high of nearly 38.4 billion tonnes (Gt), and 5% above 2019 levels. The increase coincided with record atmospheric CO2 concentrations of about 427 parts-per-million (ppm), roughly 2.4 ppm higher than in 2024 and around 50% above pre-industrial levels.Emissions from fuel combustion…
- Key findings
- Global trends
- Oil
- Natural gas
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+ 9 pages
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Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as one of the most consequential technologies of our time. In recent years, the capabilities of AI systems have grown quickly due to improved computing power, a boom in data availability and breakthroughs in the design of AI models, leading to rapid adoption by both businesses and individuals. Though significant uncertainties remain, AI has the potential to transform the energy sector in the coming decade. It is set to drive a surge in electricity demand from data centres around the world while also unlocking significant opportunities to cut costs, enhance competitiveness and reduce emissions.To…
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Policy options to accelerate distributed solar PV in Ukraine Distributed solar PV in Ukraine
This report explores the current policy landscape for distributed solar PV in Ukraine and outlines three potential policy options to accelerate the deployment of this technology. It focuses on expanding the capacity of distributed solar PV to achieve the modelled results from IEA report Empowering Ukraine through a Decentralised Energy System, which outlines a pathway to rebuild and modernise Ukraine’s power sector amid ongoing attacks on energy infrastructure.The IEA estimates Ukraine would need to add around 4 GW of distributed PV per year until 2030 (over 24 GW in total) to create a more decentralised and secure power…
