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https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/26ca51d0-4a42-4649-a7c0-552d75ddf9b2/WorldEnergyOutlook2023.pdf>
"Today, 50 years on from the oil shock that led to the founding of the
International Energy Agency (IEA), the world once again faces a moment of high
geopolitical tensions and uncertainty for the energy sector. There are
parallels between then and now, with oil supplies in focus amid a crisis in the
Middle East – but there are also key differences: the global energy system has
changed considerably since the early 1970s and further changes are taking place
rapidly before our eyes.
One thing that hasn’t changed since the 1970s is the IEA’s commitment to its
core mission of safeguarding energy security. As we have demonstrated
throughout the global energy crisis that erupted in February 2022, the IEA is
ready to respond quickly and effectively to sudden disruptions in energy
markets. At the same time, we continue to dedicate significant efforts to
anticipating and addressing the challenges that are evolving and emerging
across the entire global energy system. This is an area where the data and
analysis of the
World Energy Outlook (WEO) are so valuable.
With the insights of this new WEO in mind, I want to highlight some important
differences between where the energy sector was 50 years ago and where it is
today. The 1973-74 crisis was all about oil, but today’s pressures are coming
from multiple areas. Alongside fragile oil markets, the world has seen an acute
crisis in natural gas markets caused by Russia’s cuts to supply, which had
strong knock-on effects on electricity. At the same time, the world is dealing
with an acute climate crisis, with increasingly visible effects of climate
change caused by the use of fossil fuels, including the record-breaking
heatwaves experienced around the world this year.
A crisis with multiple dimensions requires solutions that are similarly
all-encompassing. Ultimately, what is required is not just to diversify away
from a single energy commodity but to change the energy system itself, and to
do so while maintaining the affordable and secure provision of energy services.
The growing impacts of global warming make this all the more important, as an
increasing amount of energy infrastructure that was built for a cooler, calmer
climate is no longer reliable or resilient enough as temperatures rise and
weather events become more extreme. In short, we have to transform the energy
system both to stave off even more severe climate change and to cope with the
climate change that is already with us.
A second difference between the 1970s and today is that we already have the
clean energy technologies for the job in hand. The 1973 oil shock was a major
catalyst for change, driving a huge push to scale up energy efficiency and
nuclear power. But it still took many years to ramp them up while some other
key technologies like wind and solar were still emerging. Today, solar, wind,
efficiency and electric cars are all well established and readily available –
and their advantages are only being reinforced by turbulence among the
traditional technologies. We have the lasting solutions to today’s energy
dilemmas at our disposal."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-education-girls-crime-uk-ocean-conservation-new-zealand/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
