Brussels, 13 February 2024
“Check against delivery”
Secretary-General of the OECD Mathias Cormann,
President Birol, dear Fatih,
Minister Le Maire,
Ministers,
Special Presidential Envoy John Kerry,
Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great honour for me to speak at the 50th anniversary of the International Energy Agency. This is no ordinary anniversary; it is a golden jubilee. And for me, this is the celebration of a special friendship. Since I took office as President of the European Commission, you have been the most trusted of partners. They say that ‘friends are born, not made.’ And indeed, our European Union and your Agency were truly born to be friends.
The International Energy Agency was founded in response to the energy crisis. Not the one in 2022, but the original one in 1973. That crisis was also triggered by a war in Europe’s region. But its root cause was the world’s over-reliance on fossil fuels – back then, it was oil. It was a shock for an entire generation. But the world did not learn the lesson. We did not get rid of our dependency on oil. And worse, fossil fuels became massively subsidised. But that crisis was not entirely in vain. Because it taught us that there are ways to protect our energy security. One of them is international cooperation – to diversify our suppliers and build networks of trusted partners. This is why the International Energy Agency was created and why your role has been so central 50 years later, when the Kremlin set off a new energy crisis.
Today, I would like to recall the work we did together, first, in Europe, and second, on the global stage, before I conclude on the way ahead. Let me begin with Europe. As Russia started to move its troops towards the border with Ukraine, it also turned off the gas tap to blackmail the European Union. We all remember the shock and horror when the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began but also the fear of blackouts in Europe of a cold and dark winter. These fears have never materialised. Europe has made it not only through one winter but two. And this has been possible thanks to many of you in this room. Thanks to you, Fatih Birol, and the whole IEA, who immediately showed us the way with your ten-point plan to reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian gas. In the short run, we diversified towards reliable suppliers, member countries of the IEA. The United States immediately stepped up its LNG deliveries. And so did Norway with pipeline gas. And countries further away, like Japan and the Republic of Korea, worked closely with us on global markets, to ensure our immediate energy security.
Europe got the support of all our partners. But we also helped ourselves. We filled our storages. We built new infrastructure. We bought energy together. And we brought prices under control. But most importantly, we have worked on a structural response to the crisis. We invested massively in renewable energy. We boosted our energy efficiency to cut our demand. And we are investing in the fuels of the future, like clean hydrogen. And the results speak for themselves. Two years ago, one in five units of energy consumed in the EU came from Russian fossil fuels. Today, it is one in twenty. We get more energy from renewables than from Russia. In 2023 we produced more electricity from wind than from gas. Putin’s attempt to blackmail our Union has utterly failed. You know the story well because we wrote the story together.
But the consequences of Russia’s actions have been felt well beyond Europe. The price of gas increased globally. The high prices impacted the energy security of countries like Pakistan or Bangladesh in 2022. The price of food and food insecurity surged across the developing world. This is my second point: a global crisis called for a global response. And the heart of this global effort could only be the International Energy Agency. Since the very beginning, you have made clear that the only sustainable solution is a global clean energy transition. This has become much more than a climate issue. It has become a fundamental pillar of global energy security and sustainable growth. But the pace of the transition is still too slow. If we want to keep the 1.5-degrees goal within reach, the world must triple its renewable power capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030. So, in the run-up to COP28 in Dubai, Europe and the IEA decided to join forces, to set global targets that would speed up the clean energy transition. Few observers thought we would succeed. But together, we formed a global coalition. And in the end, the whole world has agreed on our global targets for clean energy and energy efficiency. The targets will not only help us phase out fossil fuels faster than expected, they will also give predictability to investors and create new economies of scale. They will make clean energy more affordable and cost competitive, all across the world, including in the Global South. We scored a victory for everybody on the planet.
But now that we have set the targets, we must gear up to reach them. This is my third point. Massive investment will be needed. Not only in renewable energy capacity but in interconnectors, in clean tech, and in the relevant supply chains. We will need to mobilise the private sector, and we are working right now to intensify our dialogue with them. And we will need to work with developing economies, so that they can attract the investment they need. Because in too many parts of the world, the cost of renewables and the cost of capital for renewables is still prohibitive. Through NextGenerationEU and REPowerEU, we support the energy transition targets by EUR 150 billion so far. And I know that the IEA has also taken a leading role in supporting Africa’s transition. For instance, by organising your annual conference on energy efficiency in Nairobi. And with your International Summit on Clean Cooking for Africa this coming spring. Because the clean energy transition can only succeed if it goes global. It will only work, if it works for all.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The old fossil fuel economy is all about dependencies. The new clean energy economy is all about inter-dependencies. Clean energy can be produced anywhere. But it requires investment, infrastructure, innovation as well as raw materials. Our economic competitiveness depends on this complex mix of factors. Energy security, today, is more than just access to energy. And it can only be achieved in cooperation with partners. We can all support one another on the path to net zero. We need to think and act as one global energy community, in which we help each other de-risk our economies and boost our competitiveness. For us, in the EU, this means first and foremost to work more closely with the future members of our Union, like the Western Balkans, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. It means new partnerships across the Mediterranean with investments in skills and technology and new interconnections across the sea. And it also means greater cooperation with IEA members, from our neighbours, like Norway and the UK, to major economies across the Atlantic and Asia. This new clean energy era must be one of international cooperation. And this can only mean an even more central role for the IEA.
50 years ago, the International Energy Agency was founded in response to an oil crisis. Today, you are building on 50 years of experience to lead the transition towards a global clean energy system. I am glad that we can all count on you. And you can count on us, as your unwavering partners and friends. And a very happy birthday to you all.