PARIS, France - For the first time, world demand for oil, gas and coal is forecast to peak this decade due to the"spectacular" growth of cleaner energy technologies and electric cars, the International Energy Agency's chief said Tuesday.
"Fossil fuels will be with us for many years to come –- but looking at our numbers, we may be witnessing the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era," Birol said in separate comments released by the IEA. Meeting this goal"will require significantly stronger and faster policy action by governments", he added.The fate of fossil fuels will be at the heart of the debates at the UN's COP28 climate summit in Dubai, a major oil producer, between November 30 and December 12.
Phasing out fossil fuels whose emissions cannot be captured or compensated is also required to achieve the goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the UN said. After staying"stubbornly high" for the past decade, coal demand is set to peak"in the next few years", he said.