FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
15 April 2020
CONTACT:
Kelly Trout, kelly [at] priceofoil.org, +1 717-439-0346
Statement: IEA forgets about climate crisis, prioritises return to ‘normal’ in oil report
In response to the International Energy Agency’s April 2020 Oil Market Report, which claims that the oil industry “will remain central to the functioning of the global economy,” Kelly Trout, senior research analyst at Oil Change International, released the following statement:
“After pushing a welcome green stimulus message, the IEA seems to have forgotten the climate crisis is worsening in its message around the latest oil market report. What we’re seeing now is a chaotic, unmanaged decline in oil markets that is harming workers and vulnerable economies at the worst possible moment. But it’s workers and developing countries’ budgets that need rescue, not oil executives and their inherently volatile and unsustainable business model.
“Dr. Birol and the IEA have again shown their long-standing bias towards the fossil fuel status quo in their focus on returning to ‘normal market conditions.’ What’s ‘normal’ for Big Oil is catastrophic for people and the planet. The only path to climate stability is for governments to manage a stable decline in oil while investing in a just transition for workers and currently fossil-fuel dependent communities.
“To be relevant for a just economic recovery, the IEA must align its message and its models with the rapid fossil fuel phase-out required to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.”
For more analysis of the ambition gap in the IEA’s current scenarios, see:
- “To advise on green stimulus, the IEA needs to upgrade its own climate toolbox” (9 April 2020)
- “Putting clean energy stimulus at the heart of IEA analysis?” (26 March 2020)
- “The IEA and WEO 2019: Still working for fossil fuels, not global climate goals” (13 November 2019)
For more on how Oil Change International is responding to the COVID-19 crisis, see: https://priceofoil.org/2020/03/26/covid-19-statement/
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