Summary

Energy is at the centre of almost everything we do and has been for generations. But as the world works to account for the consequences of more than a century of increasing emissions from our energy system, nations are examining how to take the energy transition forward while still growing their economies. The challenge is how to balance economic growth while protecting the environment, a huge and systemic challenge that requires ensuring that global energy supply and economic outputs are as low-carbon as possible.

Smarter ways of working have gradually been tipping the balance away from uncontrolled greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are the main cause of humandriven global climate change. In January, the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggested that most economies had experienced a “growing divergence” between emissions and economic growth as they displayed “steady improvements” in energy intensity.

Advanced economies account for well over half of global GDP and more than one-third of energy demand “In advanced economies, continued growth in GDP has been accompanied by a peak in CO2 emissions in 2007, followed by a decline. In the United States, GDP has doubled since 1990, but CO2 emissions have returned to the level back then. In the case of the Eur opean Union (EU), the economy is 66% larger now, while CO2 emissions are 30% lower than in 1990,”1 Siddharth Singh, an IEA energy investment analyst wrote.

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