By Abdullahi Lukman
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has urged world governments to step up cooperation and accelerate the shift toward renewable energy to safeguard global energy security and protect the planet from escalating climate risks.
The call came as the agency released its 2025 World Energy Outlook in Paris on Wednesday, November 12.
According to the report, renewable energy deployment reached record levels for the 23rd consecutive year in 2024, signalling the growing momentum of clean power.
However, the IEA warned that fossil fuel use also rose to historic highs, threatening progress toward the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C temperature limit.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said the world is “firmly in the Age of Electricity,” with clean technologies, electrification, and efficiency driving modern economies.
He noted that renewable energy is now cheaper, faster to deploy, and more resilient than fossil fuels — offering a sustainable path to both development and security.
The report outlines three possible futures: a continuation of current policies, a path based on existing national commitments, and a net-zero emissions scenario by 2050.
Only the net-zero pathway would keep global warming below 1.5°C in the long term, underscoring the urgency of faster clean energy investment and stronger policy alignment.
Global electricity demand is soaring, fuelled by the rapid growth of data centres, artificial intelligence, and digital industries.
The IEA estimates that global investment in data infrastructure will reach 580 billion dollars in 2025, surpassing spending on oil supply — a symbolic shift toward an increasingly electrified, low-carbon economy.
Environmental advocates welcomed the report’s recognition of renewable energy’s unstoppable rise but criticised the IEA for not going far enough.
They called for a decisive global phaseout of coal, oil, and gas and stronger climate finance for developing countries to ensure a just and inclusive energy transition.
Svitlana Romanko of Razom We Stand said the rapid expansion of clean energy “offers hope for both climate stability and global peace,” while Power Shift Africa’s Mohamed Adow stressed that “Africa’s vast solar and wind potential can power prosperity without pollution.”
Greenpeace’s Kaisa Kosonen added that governments at COP30 in Brazil “must agree on a fair fossil fuel phaseout roadmap and unlock barriers to renewable expansion.”
The IEA concluded that while the world is on the brink of breaching the 1.5°C threshold, the worst outcomes can still be avoided if nations accelerate investment in clean power, grid infrastructure, and efficiency.
The message is clear: a secure, sustainable, and equitable energy future depends on embracing the green transition now — not later.
