IEA given climate mandate

Ministers from 31 member countries give body new guiding principle of supporting decarbonisation efforts

The IEA has been given an official mandate by energy ministers to support countries in reaching their net-zero targets. The traditional role of the IEA has been to ensure global energy security, but ministers from the 31 member countries said in a statement following the latest ministerial meeting that this was the launch of a new phase for the agency. “In addition to ensuring global energy security, the IEA has a new guiding principle: supporting countries in the global effort to attain net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector by mid-century,” says the statement. “We resolve to accelerate clean energy transitions as a lasting solution to prevent energy price spikes, such as th