A sustainable economic recovery post Covid-19 must go hand-in-hand with a clean energy transition to allow economic growth while ensuring carbon dioxide emissions decline rapidly, according to a line-up of ministers and energy specialists speaking on a webinar hosted by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The IEA hosted its first Clean Energy Summit this week to call for a sustainable economic recovery post Covid-19 — the pandemic has led to a drop in energy demand seven times larger than that recorded from the 2008/2009 financial crash.

Ministers from dozens of countries accounting for over 80% of global economic output took part in the discussion on Thursday, including China's Minister of Human Resources & Social Security Zhang Jinhua, US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette and European Union Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson.

Speakers also included India's Power Minister RK Singh, the UK's Minister of State at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Kwasi Kwarteng, Brazil's Minister of Mines & Energy Bento Albuquerque and South Africa's Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe.

Also included were chief executives from across the energy industry, top investors and heads of regional development banks.

Many highlighted the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on their energy systems, underscoring the importance of finding ways to support clean energy transitions despite current market challenges.

Just transition

Key themes included the need for greater innovation in areas such as hydrogen, the importance of inclusive and equitable recoveries, and how to make the electricity sector more resilient and sustainable.

IEA executive director Fatih Birol urged the players not to allow a rebound in emissions with their policies to re-start economies.

According to the latest IEA data, global energy-related CO₂ emissions stopped growing in 2019, even as the world economy expanded by 2.9%.

Birol said the policies due to be announced by governments around the world aimed at helping boost a recovery after the pandemic “will decide if there will be a rebound in emissions”.

Meeting future growth in demand while keeping emissions on track to meet net zero targets by 2050 will be challenging because global energy investments have dropped by 20%, wiping around $400bn from the world economy, Birol said, with implications on the energy sector and clean energy transition.

“Now, it is time for all of us to get to work – building back our economies, bringing our citizens back to work, ensuring that 2019 was the definitive peak in emissions and building towards the resilient and sustainable energy systems of the future,” he said.

“What I see clearly is momentum — momentum behind sustainable recovery and momentum behind clean energy transitions,” Birol added.

De-funding fossil fuels

The head of the IEA's message was echoed by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who urged governments to stop funding fossil fuels.

Speaking at the virtual summit, he said: “Stop wasting money on fossil fuel subsidies and place a price on carbon.”

The message came as the UN chief told the meeting that new analysis of G20 recovery packages shows that twice as much recovery money has been spent on fossil fuels as clean energy.

Guterres praised the EU, South Korea and Nigeria for their efforts to encourage the development of renewable energy but said pointedly that many countries had “still not got the message”.

“Some countries have used stimulus plans to prop up oil and gas companies that were already struggling financially,” he said.

“Others have chosen to jumpstart coal-fired power plants that don't make financial or environmental sense.”

Guterres did not mention any nations by name but, in the US, the White House has been cutting back environmental protections while China has given the green light to a slew of new coal plants. (Copyright)

Transition

Ministers target 'sustainable' transition at first IEA Clean Energy Summit