Save for later Print Download Share LinkedIn Twitter The International Energy Agency (IEA) says the fallout from Russia's war in Ukraine is accelerating the energy transition, prompting it to dramatically increase its estimate of growth in renewable power capacity this year. "We expect this year we will see again a huge growth in renewables, a 20% increase in renewables capacity — solar, wind and others — close to 400 GW of new capacity additions," IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said. The new numbers compare with the IEA's previous estimate of 340 GW for growth in renewable electricity generation this year, published just last month. Greater penetration of renewables poses a challenge to the role of natural gas in the energy transition. Birol also said electric cars will account for around 15% of all cars sold in the world this year, up from around 4% in 2019, posing a more direct threat to oil demand. He said interest and investment in low-carbon energy has been surging because the world is "in the middle of the first truly global energy crisis." The energy crisis of the 1970s had been limited to a sharp increase in oil prices, whereas the current crisis has resulted in soaring prices for oil, gas, coal and electricity, largely due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he said.
