In May 2021, the IEA published its landmark report Net Zero Emissions by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector. The report set out a narrow but feasible pathway for the global energy sector to contribute to the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. The Net Zero Roadmap quickly became an important benchmark for policy makers, industry, the financial sector and civil society.
Since the report was released, many changes have taken place, notably amid the global energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. And energy sector carbon dioxide emissions have continued to rise, reaching a new record in 2022. Yet there are also increasing grounds for optimism: the last two years have also seen remarkable progress in developing and deploying some key clean energy technologies.
This 2023 update to our Net Zero Roadmap surveys this complex and dynamic landscape and sets out an updated pathway to net zero by 2050, taking account of the key developments that have occurred since 2021.
This report is part of the IEA’s support of the first global stocktake of the Paris Agreement, which will be finalized in the run up to COP28, the next UN Climate Change Conference, at the end of 2023. Find other reports in this series on the IEA’s Global Energy Transitions Stocktake page.