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Stepping Up the Value Chain in Africa Executive summary
Africa is endowed with vast energy resources – fossil fuels, but also solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal – and yet energy supply remains limited: Around 600 million people on the continent lack reliable access to electricity. This energy gap constrains economic growth and industrial potential, particularly in rural areas where agriculture remains the dominant sector in the economy. As African economies grow and urbanise, the demand for energy-intensive industries and infrastructure is rising. Strategic investments in sustainable industrialisation can create a virtuous cycle that expands energy access and drives productivity, which in turn can attract more investment.Market opportunities already exist. Globally…
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Sheltering From Oil Shocks Introduction and context
The conflict in the Middle East has created the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. The volume of fuel supply offline now is higher than the supply loss during the oil shock of 1973 that led to the IEA’s creation and any disruption since then. Beyond the direct damage to energy infrastructure in the region, the crisis has led to a near halt in tanker movements through the Strait of Hormuz. Crude and oil product flows through the Strait have fallen from around 20 million barrels per day (mb/d) before the conflict to…
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Mathilde Huismans
Energy Analyst.
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What Next for the Global Car Industry Pathways to global EV cost-competitiveness
Highlights The gap in competitiveness in electric car manufacturing between new market-entrants located in China and incumbents in other countries has grown in the past 5 years. Battery electric car production costs are over 30% lower in China than in advanced economies, and around a third of the difference can be attributed to the battery. However, a similar production cost gap exists for conventional cars. Battery cell prices are, on average, over 30% lower in China than in Europe and over 20% lower than in the United States. Reducing the manufacturing cost gap is possible – half is due to efficiency…
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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 Outlook 2022 The global energy crisis
Introduction The world is in the middle of a global energy crisis of unprecedented depth and complexity. Europe is at the centre of this crisis, but it is having major implications for markets, policies and economies worldwide. As so often is the case, the poorest and most vulnerable are likely to suffer most. The strains did not begin with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but they have been sharply exacerbated by it. Extraordinarily high prices are sparking a reappraisal of energy policies and priorities. The Europe-Russia energy relationship lies in tatters, calling into question the viability of decades of…
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Energy and AI AI for energy optimisation and innovation
AI can help optimise complex energy systems The energy system is complex and evolving. It is becoming increasingly electrified, digitalised, connected and decentralised, with mounting cost pressures. These drivers have encouraged energy companies to deploy applications that utilise artificial intelligence to optimise systems, improve production, reduce costs, raise efficiency, improve uptime, cut emissions and enhance safety. Many of the desired goals of AI’s application in the energy sector – such as cost reductions, enhanced reliability and improved resilience – are challenging to quantify at a broader sectoral level, beyond the confines of individual case studies. It is also challenging to predict…
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Sustainable Transport for Georgia: A Roadmap Executive summary
Georgia is at a pivotal point in shaping sustainable transport policy. This roadmap guides policy makers in making transport cleaner, fairer and more efficient while building on Georgia’s strengths – its location, institutions, competitive wages, low-emissions electricity and natural resources. Key opportunities include assembling and producing electric vehicles; manufacturing cells and battery components for mobility and storage; strengthening regional freight links; and developing low-emission fuels.Road transport has become cleaner and more efficient, but progress needs to accelerate. Car ownership and freight activity have risen along with incomes, but this comes at a cost: Nearly all of Georgia…
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Tina Bru
Former Minister of Petroleum and Energy.
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Indicators Handbook for Just and Inclusive Energy Transitions Key findings from workshops on challenges and opportunities for tracking progress on just and inclusive energy transitions
Several challenges and opportunities emerged from the seven workshops. These include: Data improvements and digital opportunities Improving the availability of disaggregated data offers new ways to monitor key just transition dimensions.Clean energy programmes and policies can affect groups differently. Indicators tracking their just and inclusive dimensions, therefore, require disaggregated data that allow for intersectional analysis of key socio-economic factors such as gender, age, disability, household tenure, migration status or rural-urban divides. While the availability of disaggregated data remains a fundamental challenge for tracking just transitions across the world, improving it also represents a major opportunity for policymakers…