8 December 2008: In a press conference held during the 14th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, taking place in Poznan, Poland, Nobuo Tanaka, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), noted that the financial crisis presents an opportunity to tackle climate change by investing in energy efficiency and clean technologies. He added that this ‘Clean Energy New Deal’ will not only generate economic growth, but also enhance energy security.

Global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, which account for 61% of global greenhouse gas emissions, have risen by 33% between 1990 and 2006. Tanaka stressed the role the energy sector can play in combating climate change and called on governments to adopt energy efficiency measures, construct green energy infrastructure and integrate cleaner energy into the power grids in order to “lock in sustainable technologies and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by almost 40% relative to the projected baseline emissions for 2030.”
He also warned that Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries alone cannot stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations at 550 and 450 parts per million of carbon dioxide equivalent, and stressed the need for global implementation of energy efficiency policies. He also signaled IEA’s readiness to provide “robust data and analysis to support action” in the energy sector against climate change. [IEA Press Release]