The Trump Administration is pushing the International Energy Agency (IEA) to ditch its focus on the energy transition and promotion of renewable energy sources, two sources briefed on recent IEA meetings have told POLITICO.
Reports emerged as early as last summer during President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign that if elected, Trump would push the IEA, for which the United States provides about a quarter of the funding, to focus back on energy security and fossil fuel supply.
The Paris-based IEA was created to ensure the security of energy supply to developed economies in the aftermath of the Arab oil embargo in the 1970s.
In recent years, however, the agency has shifted from this purpose to endorsing the net-zero by 2050 goal and is advocating for a major change in the global energy system to include more electric vehicles (EVs), renewable power supply, hydrogen, and all other low-carbon energy sources. The IEA has even infamously said that no new oil and gas developments would be needed if the world stands a chance of reaching net zero by 2050.
But now a very pro-fossil fuel U.S. Administration is pressuring the agency to return to its roots, which has frustrated European officials who want the IEA to continue advocating for a clean energy transition, according to POLITICO’s sources.
The U.S. stance during talks and meetings at the IEA has been “let’s weaken or disable the IEA unless they’re working on our values — which is the same approach that they’ve taken to every other international organization,” a European official told POLITICO.
The IEA’s agenda, especially calls for no investment in new oil and gas supply, has drawn harsh criticism from OPEC in recent years.
Earlier this year, the IEA acknowledged that continued investment in existing oil and gas fields is needed. This, OPEC said, is another moment of truth for the IEA, highlighting the Paris-based agency’s inconsistent messages about upstream investment.
“Hopefully, the Agency can return to analysis based on energy realities and focus on its mandate of energy security. In doing so, the IEA can look to a willing partner in OPEC,” the cartel said.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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