-
Prospects for Natural Gas Certification Executive summary
Governments and industry are working to improve resource efficiency and reduce emissions from natural gas supply – from both domestic production and imports – to help deliver on their climate goals, while also looking to improve energy security. One emerging approach is natural gas certification, which can help buyers make more informed decisions by providing independently verified greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity data at select stages of the supply chain, from production and processing to storage and transport, but excluding final consumption. This can support the implementation of best practices throughout the entire supply chain, and help importing countries and regions better understand…
-
State of Energy Policy 2026 Government energy spending
Government energy spending declined as affordability measures were rolled back after 2022 crisis, though investment support continues above historical levels The energy sector has historically accounted for a relatively small share of government budgets, averaging around 1% in most countries. Over the past five years, however, government spending on energy has doubled compared with 2019 levels, reaching around 1.4% of total direct government expenditure in 2025. Levels have varied by country, with some reaching up to 5% of general expenditure. Although spending fell from its peak in 2023, disbursements in 2024 and 2025 remained significantly higher than in the…
-
The Middle East and Global Energy Markets
The IEA is responding to the energy market impacts of the conflict in the Middle East and continues to closely monitor the latest developments.The disruption to oil and gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on energy infrastructure across the region have major implications for energy security and affordability – and for the world economy. The IEA's Executive Director has said the combined impacts amount to "the greatest threat to global energy security in history." The war in the region that began on 28 February has impeded energy trade flows through the Strait, creating the largest supply disruption in…
-
Coal 2025 Trade
International coal trade is set to decline in 2025 International coal trade grew by 3% in 2024, reaching a new record of 1 544 Mt. This growth was driven by increases in both thermal coal (up 26 Mt to 1 176 Mt) and met coal (up 21 Mt to 368 Mt). Coal trade accounted for approximately 18% of global coal demand, with thermal coal making up more than three-quarters of total traded volumes. Seaborne trade continued to dominate, representing over 90% of global coal trade in 2024.The Asia Pacific region further strengthened its dominance, accounting for 85% of global coal imports in 2024. China led…
- Executive summary
- Demand
- Supply
- Trade
-
+ 2 pages
-
Global Methane Tracker 2026 Policy trends
Existing policies and regulations would cut energy sector emissions by 25% by 2035 – far short of high-level goals National ambitions to lower emissions have grown significantly in recent years, with many new countries signing onto methane commitments. High-level methane pledges now cover around 80% of global fossil fuel production, up from around 50% in 2021. This includes the Global Methane Pledge (GMP), which today includes more than 150 countries and covers more than 50% of emissions from human activity worldwide. Launched in 2021 at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), the GMP commits participating countries to…
-
Global Hydrogen Review 2025 Executive summary
The hydrogen sector continues to grow despite persistent barriers and project cancellations Global hydrogen demand increased to almost 100 million tonnes (Mt) in 2024, up 2% from 2023 and in line with overall energy demand growth. This rise was driven by greater use in sectors that have traditionally consumed hydrogen, like oil refining and industry. Demand from new applications accounted for less than 1% of the total and was almost entirely concentrated in biofuels production. The supply of hydrogen continued to be dominated by fossil fuels, using 290 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas and 90 million tonnes of coal equivalent (Mtce…
-
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…
-
World Energy Outlook 2022 Outlook for gaseous fuels
Global demand for natural gas held up better than demand for other fossil fuels during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, and then increased by 5% in 2021, double its average growth rate over the past decade. A dearth of new projects, weather-related increases in demand, LNG outages and reduced Russian exports tightened the global gas supply balance from mid-2021 and put upward pressure on prices, especially in Europe where the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) benchmark rose from less than USD 10 per million British thermal units (MBtu) in the first-half of 2021 to over 30 USD…
-
World Energy Investment 2025 Middle East
The Middle East is rich in a wide range of energy resources, which it is looking to develop with a mix of foreign and domestic sources of investment The Middle East holds some of the lowest-cost oil and gas resources in the world, and in 2024 provided around 30% of global oil production and 17% of global natural gas production. Saudi Arabia’s upstream oil and gas investment is the highest in the region, and is set to reach about USD 40 billion in 2025, nearly 15% higher than in 2015. Overall, the Middle East is set to invest about USD 130 billion…
-
Electricity Mid-Year Update 2025 Executive summary
Global electricity demand on course to expand robustly in 2025 and 2026 despite economic headwinds Global power demand is expected to rise much faster over the forecast 2025‑2026 period than it did during the past decade. While slower than the 4.4% surge in 2024, growth forecasts of 3.3% for 2025 and 3.7% for 2026 remain among the highest rates observed in the past decade and well above the 2015-2023 average of 2.6%. Despite a slowdown in economic activity, which has weighed on global electricity use so far in 2025, heatwaves continue to add to demand…
