Browse by: "2015"

A combination of rapidly increasing energy demand and fuel imports plus growing concern about economic and environmental consequences is generating growing calls for effective and thorough energy governance in India. Numerous policy reforms over the past 20 years have shifted the country’s energy sector from a state-dominated system towards one that is based on market principles. However, with the reform process left unfinished, India now finds itself trapped halfway along the transition to an open and well-performing energy sector.

India suffered from the largest power outage ever in late July 2012, affecting nearly half of the population. While this incident highlights the importance of modern and smart energy systems, it indicates that the country is increasingly unable to deliver a secure supply of energy to its population, a quarter of which still lacks access to electricity.
 
Understanding Energy Challenges in India aims to provide an informative and holistic understanding of India’s energy sector to stakeholders in India as well as the broad public.

The publication explores in detail the policies, players and issues of the country’s power, coal, oil and gas, renewables and nuclear sectors. It also highlights the key challenges India faces, challenges that must be resolved for the evolution of the fast-growing country’s energy sector towards a sustainable energy future and eventually critical for the prospects of the Indian and global economies.

Chinese NOCs first ventured overseas to invest in oil and gas production more than 20 years ago. Today, they have emerged to become international players with activities spreading across more than 40 countries and producing 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (mboe/d) of oil and gas outside of China. Chinese companies have contributed much-needed investments in global oil and gas production.

This report provides an update on overseas activity by China’s National Oil Companies (NOCs) between 2011 and 2013 and is a follow-up publication of IEA’s previous report in 2011, Overseas Investments by Chinese National Oil Companies: Assessing the Drivers and Impacts. It aims to examine the trends exhibited by investments made by Chinese NOCs and the risks and challenges they face today and raised the question if China’s long standing non-interference foreign policy could still be valid given China’s worldwide commercial interests, including those of the NOCs’.

Growing innovation capacity among emerging markets and increasing investment flows between them are creating new, reciprocal opportunities through the deployment of technological innovations and knowledge transfer. The case of Brazil and China is particularly relevant in this context. Between 2005 and 2012, the Brazilian energy sector absorbed USD 18.3 billion worth of investments from China. Sino-Brazilian trade and political relations have intensified over the past decade.

This report focuses on three main questions: What are the drivers behind Chinese investment in the Brazilian energy sector? What potential exists for inter-firm technology transfer between the Chinese and Brazilian companies involved? Do government-sponsored activities and academic exchanges complement inter-firm technology transfer? The analysis highlights the potential of energy technology co-operation between Brazil and China, the deployment of innovations in third countries and, more generally, the intensification of global co-operation in

China will play a positive role in the global development of gas, the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Executive Director, Maria Van der Hoeven has said in Beijing on 11 September, 2012 when launching a new IEA report: Gas Pricing and Regulation, China’s challenges and IEA experiences.

In line with its aim to meet growing energy demand while shifting away from coal, China has set an ambitious goal of doubling its use of natural gas from 2011 levels by 2015. Prospects are good for significant new supplies – both domestic and imported, conventional and unconventional – to come online in the medium-term, but notable challenges remain, particularly concerning gas pricing and the institutional and regulatory landscape.
 
While China’s circumstances are, in many respects unique, some current issues are similar to those a number of IEA countries have faced. This report highlights some key challenges China faces in its transition to greater reliance on natural gas, then explores in detail relevant experiences from IEA countries, particularly in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States as well as the European Union (EU). Preliminary suggestions about how lessons learned in other countries could be applied to China’s situation are offered as well.
 
The aim of this report is to provide stakeholders in China with a useful reference as they consider decisions about the evolution of the gas sector in their country.
 
The report is funded by the UK Strategic Programme Fund programme , and the EU delegation in Beijing and the World Bank have provided in-kind contributions. The project is supported by the Chinese government and co-implemented by China 5E.
 

A regional ASEAN Power Grid (APG) would help ASEAN countries meet their rising energy demands, improve access to energy services and reduce the costs of developing an energy infrastructure. Two primary advantages of system integration are the increase in security of supply and efficiency. Larger service territories allow for the pooling of generating resources, thus taking advantage of the benefits of generation diversity.

Establishing electricity security regulations, co-ordinated planning, allocating the cost of transmission development, revising network codes and system monitoring is crucial for a functioning market. ASEAN member countries hence should work closely together to set common long-term goals for a regional market. The medium-term target should be harmonisation of grid codes and reliability standards. To ensure this, an independent regional regulator should be established and given a mandate to look after the common benefits and interests of the ASEAN member countries.

Coal is the principal fuel for the generation of electrical power globally. It is the leading source of power generation in OECD countries and the dominant fuel source behind economic growth in non-OECD countries. However, while providing over 40% of the world’s electricity, it is responsible for more than 70% of the CO2 arising from electricity generation.

The IEA carried out a project to examine the potential to improve the performance of existing coal-fired plants. Two power units in China were selected to showcase measures that would improve their net efficiency. The results built on the efficiency gains made under China’s national energy efficiency improvement programme and demonstrated the enormous potential to improve performance, with each percentage point increase capable of reducing CO2 emissions by many millions of tonnes over a unit’s operational lifetime. Experiences learned in China can be applied to improving coal-fired power plant efficiency worldwide.

Conveniently located near the world’s fastest growing energy markets, the resource-rich and transit countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia contribute significantly to world energy security. However, shared challenges across the region include aged infrastructure, high energy intensity, low energy efficiency, untapped alternative energy potential and poorly functioning regional energy markets.

This publication highlights the energy policies and sector developments of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan during 2013-14 and provides a summary of key recommendations for policy makers in the region.

Energy policy analysis is conducted in line with the INOGATE Programme’s four main pillars of energy development: energy market convergence, energy security, sustainable development and investment attraction. Started in 1996, the INOGATE Programme is one of the longest running energy technical assistance programmes funded by the European Union and works within the policy frameworks of the Baku Initiative and the Eastern Partnership. The INOGATE Programme co-operates with 11 Partner Countries to support reduction in their dependency on fossil fuels and imports, to improve the security of their energy supply and to mitigate overall climate change. It also supports the Eastern Partnership, a joint initiative between the European Union, EU Member States, and the Eastern European and Caucasus countries. Launched in 2009, the Eastern Partnership aims at advancing political association and economic integration.

This publication has been produced with European Union financial assistance provided through the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument.

In recognition of fundamental changes in the way governments approach energy related environmental issues, the IEA has prepared this publication on CO2 emissions from fuel combustion. This annual publication was first published in 1997 and has become an essential tool for analysts and policy makers in many international for a such as the Conference of the Parties, which will be meeting in Paris, France from 30 November to 11 December 2015.

The data in this book are designed to assist in understanding the evolution of the emissions of CO2 from 1971 to 2013 for more than 140 countries and regions by sector and by fuel. Emissions were calculated using IEA energy databases and the default methods and emission factors from the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.

The precipitous fall in oil prices, continued geopolitical instability and the ongoing global climate negotiations are witness to the dynamic nature of energy markets. In a time of so much uncertainty, understanding the implications of the shifting energy landscape for economic and environmental goals and for energy security is vital. The World Energy Outlook 2015 (WEO-2015) will present updated projections for the evolution of the global energy system to 2040, based on the latest data and market developments, as well as detailed insights on the prospects for fossil fuels, renewables, the power sector and energy efficiency and analysis on trends in CO2 emissions and fossil-fuel and renewable energy subsidies.

In addition, the WEO-2015 covers in-depth analysis on several topical issues:
 
A lower oil price future? The decline in oil prices and changed market conditions has prompted a broad debate over how and when the oil market will re-balance. This analysis will examine the implications for markets, policies, investment, the fuel mix and emissions if oil prices stay lower for longer.

India’s energy outlook: How India’s energy sector develops over the coming decades will have profound implications both for the country’s own prospects and for the global energy system as a whole. With new impetus behind efforts to upgrade the country’s energy supply, this comprehensive, in-depth analysis will assess the multiple challenges and opportunities facing India as it develops the resources and infrastructure to meet rapidly rising energy demand.

Renewables and energy efficiency: In the run-up to COP21, the Outlook will provide a report on the competitive position of fast-growing renewable energy technologies in different markets, how this evolves and what implications this might have for policy; the analysis also tracks for the first time the coverage of energy use by efficiency policies around the world and the ways in which product design, recycling and reuse (“material efficiency”) can contribute to energy savings.

Unconventional gas: In addition to an update on the opportunities and challenges that face the development of unconventional gas globally, analysis will focus on the prospects for unconventional gas in China and how this might affect China’s energy outlook as well as regional and global balances.

Energy efficiency improvements over the last 25 years saved a cumulative USD 5.7 trillion in energy expenditures. This virtual supply of energy generates multiple benefits to governments, businesses and households, including greater energy security from reduced dependence on energy imports and billions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

Strengthening our understanding of the energy efficiency market and the prospects over the medium term is becoming increasingly important. The 2015 Energy Efficiency Market Report (EEMR) evaluates the impact of energy efficiency in the energy system and assesses the scale and outlook for further energy efficiency investment using detailed country-by-country energy efficiency indicator data and IEA expertise.

This year’s report includes an in-depth look into the buildings energy efficiency market and the electricity sector. Energy efficiency investments in the buildings sector totaled between USD 80‑100 billion in 2014. In the electricity sector, energy efficiency has proved critical in flattening electricity consumption in Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development member countries, driving utilities to adapt their business models.

Promoting and expanding energy efficiency markets is a worldwide phenomenon, and EEMR 2015 presents a number of case studies at the national, state and municipal level. These include examinations of Latin America’s two largest economies, Brazil and Mexico, which are looking to efficiency to boost productivity and social development. Energy-producing countries like Saudi Arabia and the Russian Federation are also increasingly turning to efficiency to increase exports and reduce the costs of growing domestic energy consumption. In addition to national governments, major urban areas such as Tokyo, Seoul and Paris are increasingly enabling energy efficiency investment.

Energy efficiency improvements over the last 25 years saved a cumulative USD 5.7 trillion in energy expenditures. This virtual supply of energy generates multiple benefits for governments, businesses and households, including greater energy security from reduced dependence on energy imports and billions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

Strengthening our understanding of the energy efficiency market and the prospects over the medium term is becoming increasingly important. The 2015 Energy Efficiency Market Report (EEMR) evaluates the impact of energy efficiency in the energy system and assesses the scale and outlook for further energy efficiency investment using detailed country-by-country energy efficiency indicator data and IEA expertise.

This year’s report includes an in-depth look into the buildings energy efficiency market and the electricity sector. Energy efficiency investments in the buildings sector totalled between USD 90 billion in 2014. In the electricity sector, energy efficiency has proved critical in flattening electricity consumption in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member countries, driving utilities to adapt their business models.

Promoting and expanding energy efficiency markets is a worldwide phenomenon, and EEMR 2015 presents a number of case studies at the national, state and municipal level. These include examinations of Latin America’s two largest economies, Brazil and Mexico, which are looking to efficiency to boost productivity and social development. Energy-exporting countries like Saudi Arabia and the Russian Federation are also increasingly turning to efficiency to increase exports and reduce the costs of growing domestic energy consumption. In addition to national governments, major urban areas such as Tokyo, Seoul and Paris are increasingly enabling energy efficiency investment.
 

Cette publication porte sur l’ensemble des politiques qui soutiennent directement la production ou la consommation de combustibles fossiles dans les pays de l’OCDE et une sélection d’économies partenaires. Elle fournit un complément utile à la base de données en ligne de l’OCDE, qui identifie et estime les transferts budgétaires directs et les dépenses fiscales bénéficiant aux combustibles fossiles, et à partir de laquelle sont tirés des résultats et des indicateurs synthétiques sur le soutien aux combustibles fossiles, ainsi que des recommandations politiques.

Ce rapport met l’accent sur les problèmes engendrés par les subventions aux combustibles fossiles dans le contexte plus large des efforts politiques entrepris pour réduire les émissions de gaz à effet de serre, passant également en revue les différentes initiatives de réforme prises au niveau international (G-20, APEC, etc.). Il présente en outre la couverture, la méthode et les sources utilisées pour construire la base de données en ligne et examine les limites et restrictions qui s’appliquent dans l’interprétation des données.

This publication is concerned with all policies that directly support the production or consumption of fossil fuels in OECD countries and in a selection of partner economies. It provides a useful complement to the online OECD database that identifies and estimates direct budgetary transfers and tax expenditures benefitting fossil fuels, and from which it derives summary results and indicators on support to fossil fuels, as well as policy recommendations.

This report emphasises the problems that fossil-fuel subsidies cause in the context of broader policy efforts for mitigating greenhouse-gas emissions, and reviews the various reform initiatives that have already been taken at the international level (G-20, APEC, etc.). In addition, it presents the coverage, method and data sources used for constructing the online database, and further discusses caveats and data interpretation.

Coal Information provides a comprehensive review of historical and current market trends in the world coal sector, including 2014 provisional data. It provides a review of the world coal market in 2014, alongside a statistical overview of developments, which covers world coal production and coal reserves, coal demand by type, coal trade and coal prices. A detailed and comprehensive statistical picture of historical and current coal developments in the 34 OECD member countries, by region and individually is presented in tables and charts. Complete coal balances and coal trade data for selected years are presented on 22 major non-OECD coal-producing and -consuming countries, with summary statistics on coal supply and end-use statistics for about 40 countries and regions worldwide.

Coal Information is one of a series of annual IEA statistical publications on major energy sources; other reports are Electricity Information, Natural Gas Information, Oil Information and Renewables Information.

Natural Gas Information is a detailed reference work on gas supply and demand covering not only OECD countries but also the rest of the world. This publication contains essential information on LNG and pipeline trade, gas reserves, storage capacity and prices.

The main part of the book, however, concentrates on OECD countries, showing a detailed supply and demand balance for each country and for the three OECD regions: Americas, Asia-Oceania and Europe, as well as a breakdown of gas consumption by end user. Import and export data are reported by source and destination.

Natural Gas Information is one of a series of annual IEA statistical publication on major energy sources; other reports are Coal Information, Electricity Information, Oil Information and Renewables Information.

This volume contains data for 2012 and 2013 on energy supply and consumption in original units for coal, oil, natural gas, electricity, heat, renewables and waste for over 100 non-OECD countries. Historical tables summarise data on production, trade, final consumption by sector and oil demand by product. These tables also include initial estimates for 2014 production (and trade when available) for natural gas, primary coal and oil. The book also includes definitions of products and flows and explanatory notes on the individual country data and sources.

In the 2015 edition of Energy Balances of Non-OECD Countries, the sister volume of this publication, data are presented as comprehensive energy balances expressed in thousand tonnes of oil equivalent.