The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) former oil industry and market chief criticized the agency’s focus on the global energy transition report released recently. The former chief said that the IEA should focus on oil and gas supplies, according to Reuters.
The IEA is facing criticism from President Donald Trump’s administration due to its pivot towards prioritizing clean energy policies. A Reuters report mentions that a high-ranking official from Trump’s Republican party, along with oil industry representatives, attended an event in Washington to mark the report’s release.
For over fifty years, the IEA has supplied research and data to developed nations. Its goal is to inform energy security, supply, and investment policies.
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As member countries rapidly expand renewable energy and seek guidance on low-carbon policies, the IEA has adapted alongside them.
That has drawn criticism from the oil industry, Republicans and Trump and his team, who are shifting US energy policy to prioritize boosting oil and gas production. According to them, the Biden administration’s focus on renewables is driving up energy costs.
Last year, Trump’s campaign indetified the IEAs climate focus as an issue he could address as president. Trump has leverage over the IEA because a quarter of the IEA’s funds are provided by the US. The IEA has also been subject to criticism by countries such as Saudi Arabia.
The report, titled Energy Delusions, was released on Wednesday. It was authored by Neil Atkinson, former head of oil industry markets at the IEA, and Mark Mills, director of the National Center for Energy Analytics.
The authors launched the report on Capitol Hill alongside Wyoming Republican Senator John Barrasso, Williams CEO Alan Armstrong, and the president of the National Petroleum Council. They said the report aimed to influence the new administration
The report criticizes the IEA for 23 assumptions made in a report. These assumptions led to the conclusion that global oil output will peak by 2030 and that no new oil and gas investment is needed. It argues that the IEA underestimates growth in emerging economies, plastics, and petrochemicals, while overestimating electric vehicle adoption. The report warns that these flawed assumptions have serious global economic and security implications for reliable, affordable energy.
In response, the IEA dismissed the report as full of basic errors and misrepresentations about energy systems and IEA modeling. The agency stated it welcomes ideas for improving its analysis.