Europe’s ‘armed wing’ of the energy transition pivots to Asia

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is looking to expand its tasks by turning to critical minerals, welcoming new members and boosting its focus on Asia with a new office in Singapore.

Founded in 1974 to secure Europe’s oil supplies, the IEA, based in Paris, has become a global authority and its annual World Energy Outlook is anticipated by analysts and policy experts alike.

“The IEA has become, so to speak, our armed wing for implementing the Paris Agreement,” said French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday (13 February), adding that energy accounts for 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

For the fossil-fuel era IEA, turning 50 this year marks a turning point. Whilst full membership remains contingent on having national oil management strategies, the group is increasingly driving global understanding of what it calls “clean technologies” so as not to alienate nuclear power.

But there is more in stock for the experienced public officials at the agency.

“If we want to deserve our name, International Energy Agency, we have to work very closely with and embrace the countries from the emerging world,” said its chief, Fatih Birol.

One region stands out: Asia, where 500 GW of coal power plants are in the pipeline, according to US climate envoy John Kerry, who similarly attended the celebration.

In a region where additional energy capacity to be built in the coming 25 years exceeds the EU’s current sum total, according to the Singaporean minister of industry, Tan See Leng, the IEA must be present – so the approach goes.

The organisation is opening its first-ever branch office in Singapore. “This is another step to show that we want to work much closer with the emerging world,” Birol explained.

Simultaneously, the organisation is also considering bringing India into the fold – New Delhi sent a letter in 2023 asking to join. Macron stressed that “the launch of negotiations with India to join the IEA as a full member” had his full support.

India is in the process of a massive grid build-out and is trying to integrate new coal power plants and rapidly increasing volumes of solar power simultaneously. 

The IEA has been supporting with “analysis, expertise, capacity building both on the conventional energy sources, but also in helping us develop the renewables market, which is not exactly very easy,” explained ambassador to France, Jawed Ashraf.

Expanded priorities

Agency chief Birol says the IEA should have three priorities: oil, critical minerals and the climate. They’d keep their eyes “on the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.” On minerals, he announced a new initiative.

A “Critical Minerals Security Program” to address that “currently we are not able to keep up with the demand” for minerals like copper, cobalt and lithium, Birol explained. And “the ability of manufacturing these critical minerals is concentrated in one single country or two,” he stressed.

To stabilise oil prices and ensure sufficient supply, the IEA can coordinate a release of oil stocks of member countries to calm the market. The group had to take such drastic measures five times in its history: ahead of the Gulf War, Hurricane Katrina, the Libyan Civil War, and twice following Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

A mechanism for critical minerals could be expected to work similarly. It would “provide a safety net,” according to the IEA chief.

On the climate, he stressed that “achieving net zero while ensuring affordability and security is a clear mission for the International Energy Agency” and that the IEA would “do everything we can to help the world to achieve net zero by mid-century.” 

A ‘special friendship’

“This is the celebration of an extraordinary friendship,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who’d flown in for the occasion. 

“Since I took office as president of the European Commission, you have been the most trusted of partners,” von der Leyen said about Fatih Birol, the IEA’s president. She credits him with the bloc’s key initiative at COP28: tripling renewables and doubling energy efficiency improvement – which was ultimately endorsed.

“You have changed the entire capacity of all of us to meet this challenge. Why? Because you’ve established facts. Because you have provided accountability where it didn’t exist,” said US climate envoy John Kerry.

Other leaders, too, showed appreciation for the IEA’s global activities – aside from some 30 member countries, five are in the process of joining up, while heavyweights like Brazil, India and China are among the 13 associated members. 

Ireland’s Taoiseach Leo Varadkar noted, “with energy and security and climate change now immediate global realities, your work has never been more important.” 

No high-level German representatives attended in person, and Chancellor Scholz will display a video message on Wednesday.

[Edited by Alice Taylor]

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