The writer is executive director of the International Energy AgencyIt’s easy to become overwhelmed by the seemingly relentless onslaught of disturbing news about the world’s deepening climate crisis. Last year was by far the hottest on record, bringing with it a catalogue of devastating storms, floods, droughts and heatwaves. And the worrying trend of unusual heat has continued into this year. Meanwhile, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions humans are releasing into the atmosphere keeps going up, not down.
What’s more, elections in major economies around the world are creating heightened uncertainty about energy and climate policies. But amid all this, it’s important also to pay attention to the good news — the areas where real progress is being made that can still enable us to avoid the most severe effects of climate change. Nowhere is this clearer than in clean energy, where technologies like solar, wind and electric cars are increasingly replacing the need for fossil fuels and reining in emissions.
The impetus here is coming not just from government policies but from other powerful economic, industrial, strategic and technological forces.