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IEA Unveils $3 Trillion Covid-19 Clean Energy Recovery Plan

According to IEA and IMF's analysis, the plan could boost global economic growth by 1.1 percentage points each year over the next three years, and save or create 9 million jobs globally

The International Energy Agency (IEA) unveiled on Thursday a sustainable recovery plan for the global post-coronavirus economy over the next three years, which will require total investments of US$3 trillion.

The global pandemic has created the worst shock to economies since the 1930s and has decimated planned investments in all sectors, including energy. This year, global energy investments are expected to drop by an "unparalleled" 20 percent, the IEA said.

The IEA, in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has drafted the Sustainable Recovery Plan for actions in the energy sector that governments can take between 2021 and 2023. The plan addresses policies in six sectors - electricity, transport, industry, buildings, fuels, and emerging low-carbon technologies. The three main goals of the green recovery plan are boosting economic growth, creating millions of jobs, and putting emissions into structural decline.

According to IEA and IMF's analysis, the plan could boost global economic growth by 1.1 percentage points each year over the next three years, and save or create 9 million jobs globally, especially in retrofitting buildings and other measures to improve their energy efficiency, and in the electricity sector, particularly in grids and renewables. The plan could also lower annual energy-related greenhouse gas emissions by 4.5 billion tons in 2023 than they would be otherwise. Related: BP Issues $12 Billion In Hybrid Bonds

In order to achieve its goals, the plan would need a global investment of around US$1 trillion annually over the next three years. This would be equal to 0.7 percent of global GDP.

"Governments have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reboot their economies and bring a wave of new employment opportunities while accelerating the shift to a more resilient and cleaner energy future," Dr. Fatih Birol, IEA Executive Director, said in a statement.  

"Our Sustainable Recovery Plan provides them with rigorous analysis and clear advice on how to tackle today's major economic, energy and climate challenges at the same time. The plan is not intended to tell governments what they must do. It seeks to show them what they can do," Birol noted.  

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Tsvetana Paraskova

Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews.  More