Exclusive: IEA refutes bias accusations

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has hit back at accusations that it is guilty of "deliberately" undermining the development of the renewables industry and favouring traditional energy industries such as fossil fuels and nuclear, arguing that it has been unequivocal in its calls for a huge increase in renewables capacity.

A report from the Energy Watch Group released last week accused the IEA of systematically under-estimating the potential of the renewables industry to provide energy capacity, noting that last year net additions of wind power globally were four times greater than the average IEA estimate from its 1995-2004 predictions.

But speaking to BusinessGreen.com, Dr Fatih Birol chief author of the IEA's Annual World Energy Outlook report said there was a logical explanation for the IEA's apparent underestimating of renewables capacity.

"Each year the IEA publishes a reference scenario looking at projections based on legally enacted policies to show policy makers what will happen without any change in policy," he explained. "If in following years new policies are put in place to promote renewables this would definitely mean that our reference scenario projections do not hold anymore."

According to Birol, the IEA's projections showing renewables making rela tively slow progress are not meant to discourage governments from supporting the sector, as the Energy Watch Group has alleged, but rather warn them to change their policies to offer greater support to renewables.

He also refuted the Energy Watch Group's accusation that the IEA was guilty of bias in favour of traditional energy sources such as fossil fuels and nuclear, and had in fact been clearly calling for a massive increase in renewables capacity for a number of years.

"Anyone looking at our latest World Energy Outlook report from an unbiased position will see that the [business as usual] reference scenario points to a six degree increase in average temperatures and increased energy insecurity that would make life very difficult," he said. "We clearly state that that should not be done and we set out two scenarios to curb emissions that call for more energy efficiency, more renewables and an increase in low carbon energy sources such as CCS [carbon capture and storage] and nuclear."

He added that even based on its reference scenario the IEA is now predicting that renewables will overtake natural gas as the second largest source of electricity generation after coal soon after 2010.

But he also said that even this rate of growth will prove insufficient to tackle climate change and that the IEA was advocating greater investment and new policy frameworks to support the sector. "We are clearly saying that if governments go with these current policies for renewables it is not enough and you are going to screw up with carbon emissions and energy security… you need to change the policies," he said.

Birol also reiterated the crucial role the UN's climate change negotiations in Copenhagen later this year will have in determining whether or not carbon emissions can be successfully curbed, particularly in the emerging economies of China and India.

"More than two thirds of the expected CO2 increase up to 2030 will come from China and India… we are underlining that if we want renewables to become a worldwide energy form we need to get it used in those countries," he said. "We have one chance to address that problem and that is at Copenhagen. If we can get a deal that gives China and India financial incentive to use renewables then we have a chance."