Paris, France – World demand for oil, gas and coal is forecast for the first time to peak this decade, the head of the International Energy Agency wrote in the Financial Times on Tuesday.
The IEA’s annual World Energy Outlook, due out next month, will show that “the world is on the cusp of a historic turning point,” executive director Fatih Birol wrote in the FT.
The shift will have implications for the battle against climate change as it will bring forward the peak in greenhouse gas emissions, Birol said.
Based on government policies worldwide, demand for the three fossil fuels is “set to hit a peak in the coming years”, Birol said.
“This is the first time that a peak in demand is visible for each fuel this decade,” he wrote, adding that this was happening sooner than anticipated.
Oil demand is expected to peak before 2030 thanks to the growth of electric vehicles.
Gas demand will drop later this decade in advanced economies as heat pumps and renewable energy are increasingly used while Europe is shifting away from Russian supplies following the war in Ukraine.
Coal demand will peak in “the next few years”, he added, pointing to falling investments in the fossil fuel and the growth of renewable energy and nuclear power in top consumer China.
