The International Energy Agency (IEA) is launching a global commission to address the effects on employment and society from the transition to renewable energy from fossil fuels, it said.
The commission, chaired by Denmark, will include energy ministers from Canada, Norway, Mexico, and Oman. It will also include US energy officials, as Washington shifts course under President Joe Biden, who has pledged to tackle climate change.
“We believe the real success of this transition is critically hinging on whether or not citizens will benefit from the opportunities and how we navigate the disruptions of clean energy transitions,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said.
“Employment will change; some sectors will gain significantly while others inevitably decline. Governments will need to proactively prepare for change and to protect those adversely affected,” he told a webinar.
The Paris-based energy watchdog said this month that global emissions that had dropped sharply in 2020 because of the coronavirus crisis would rebound in 2021 unless governments acted.
Birol said he was optimistic the new US administration would join other major economies in committing to a net-zero emissions target by midcentury.