Page 8 - AfrElec Week 46 2021

AfrElec ENERGY EFFICIENCY AfrElec

IEA stresses efficiency improvement

needed to reach net zero

GLOBAL RAPID improvements in energy efficiency tech- efficiency programmes, but it also highlights
nology are needed to keep global climate pledges that substantial potential for job creation
within reach, the International Energy Agency remains untapped. For example, investments in
(IEA) said in a recent report. the energy efficiency of buildings – a well-estab-
The body urged governments to take the lead lished driver of construction jobs – are expected
in mobilising the required increase in invest- to rise by 20% in 2021 compared with pre-pan-
ment, which will have to triple by 2030 to be demic levels.
consistent with a path towards reaching net- Even with this record level of spending, the
zero emissions by 2050, as set out in the IEA’s report details how 4mn more jobs could be
Roadmap to Net Zero by 2050. added by 2030 by further increasing spending on
Global progress on energy efficiency has efficient buildings, appliances and other meas-
recovered this year to its pre-pandemic pace, ures in line with the IEA’s Net Zero Emissions by
but that was already well short of what would be 2050 Scenario.
needed to help put the world on track to reach After its worst year in a decade in 2020, when
net-zero emissions by mid-century, according to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic shifted
Energy Efficiency 2021, the IEA’s annual market the centre of economic activity away from ser-
report on the topic. vices and towards industry, the rate of improve-
The IEA’s latest global assessment of market ment in global energy intensity – a key indicator
and policy trends in energy efficiency highlights of how efficiently the world’s economic activity
the urgent need for stronger implementation of uses energy – is expected to recover in 2021 to
clean energy policies – with energy efficiency at 1.9%.
their core – in order to reach international cli- This is line with the average annual rate of
mate goals. improvement over the past 10 years but well
This is the first update of the IEA’s energy effi- below the 4% needed between 2020 and 2030 in
ciency market report since a raft of new spending the IEA’s pathway to net-zero emissions by 2050.
commitments aimed at supporting the economic As energy efficiency offers some of the fast-
recovery were announced by governments over est and most cost-effective actions to reduce
the course of 2021. CO2 emissions, front-loading efficiency meas-
The report comes shortly after the end of the ures into net-zero strategies will be crucial for
COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, closing the gap between climate ambitions and
whose final statement specifically called for the current trends. This year’s report examines over
rapid scaling up of energy efficiency measures, 40 energy efficiency milestones mapped out in
recognising their key role in decarbonising the IEA Roadmap to Net Zero by 2050 that can
energy systems. enhance efficiency and help get emission reduc-
“We consider energy efficiency to be the ‘first tions on track.
fuel’, as it still represents the cleanest and, in most In addition to well-developed energy effi-
cases, the cheapest way to meet our energy needs. ciency policies such as appliance standards –
There is no plausible pathway to net-zero emis- which in some countries have avoided electricity
sions without using our energy resources much usage equivalent to their total wind and solar
more efficiently,” said IEA Executive Director power generation – the report also underlines
Fatih Birol. the increasingly important role for digital tech-
“A step change in energy efficiency will give us nologies in energy efficiency’s future.
a fighting chance of staving off the worst effects Rapid uptake of digitally connected devices
of climate change while creating millions of is helping to expand the scale and scope of ben-
decent jobs and driving down energy bills.” efits from energy efficiency, and can deliver a
The report notes that governments have cheaper, easier and more cost-effective clean
scaled up existing, employment-intensive energy transition.™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 46 18•November•2021