November 13, 2018 - The International Energy Agency (IEA) has published its annual World Energy Outlook 2018. The report looks at global energy trends and what possible impact they will have on supply and demand, carbon emissions and energy access.   

In response, the WCA notes that:

• With global energy demand set to grow by more than 25% to 2040, it’s clear from this year’s report that coal will continue to play a key role in the global energy system for decades to come, with emerging Asia driving demand.

• Globally, coal has always been crucial for development and this is not going to change over the coming decades.

• There are currently over 700 GW of coal-fuelled plants in development or under construction.

• This year’s World Energy Outlook also puts a spotlight on the challenge we face in tackling increasing carbon emissions. This is why, as an organization, we today launched a new report, “Driving CCUS deployment: The pathway to zero emissions from coal” with a call for a step-change in international action to advance carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) technologies.

• As the international community looks to achieve the Paris Agreement goals, we must recognize that many national climate plans include a role for high efficiency low emission coal (HELE), which is an important first step on the pathway to zero emissions.

• We need to support countries to deploy low emission coal technologies, whether that be through sharing technology or developing more constructive approaches to financing for low emission coal plants.

• Policy parity for CCUS alongside all low emission technologies will eventually lead to the climate outcome for which we are all working.