IEA chief urges world to avoid fossil fuels

On November 4, 2021, the International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol addresses a session at the COP 26 UN Climate Summit in Glasgow. DANIEL LEAL AFP DAVOS, Switzerland - The energy security crisis since Ukraine began must not lead to a deeper dependence on fossil fuels, International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol said on Monday.

Birol told delegates in Davos, Switzerland that the world needs not choose between energy shortages and climate change because of fossil fuels, because of the right investments in renewable energy and nuclear power.

A top energy watchdog, the Paris-based IEA warned investors not to fund new oil, gas and coal supply projects if the world wants to reach net zero emissions by the mid-century.

Birol said that the world could not immediately wean itself off traditional energy supplies because of the short-term demand, with top producers Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates holding off on tapping full capacity because of the OPEC alliance of oil exporters.