World’s first comprehensive energy roadmap shows government actions to rapidly boost clean energy and reduce fossil fuel use can create millions of jobs, lift economic growth and keep net zero in reach

The number of countries announcing pledges to achieve net-zero emissions over the coming decades continues to grow. But the pledges by governments to date – even if fully achieved – fall well short of what is required to bring global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050 and give the world an even chance of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 °C.

This special report is the world’s first comprehensive study of how to transition to a net zero energy system by 2050 while ensuring stable and affordable energy supplies, providing universal energy access, and enabling robust economic growth. It sets out a cost-effective and economically productive pathway, resulting in a clean, dynamic and resilient energy economy dominated by renewables like solar and wind instead of fossil fuels. The report also examines key uncertainties, such as the roles of bioenergy, carbon capture and behavioural changes in reaching net zero.

# Despite the increase in GDP and energy use in emerging market and developing economies, 750 million people still have no access to electricity in 2050, more than 95% of them in sub‐Saharan Africa, and 1.5 billion people continue to rely on the traditional use of bioenergy for cooking.
# In a number of other major economies – including China, Brazil, Russia and South Africa – CO2 prices in these sectors are assumed to rise to around USD 200/tCO2 in 2050.
# About 790 million people worldwide did not have access to electricity in 2020, most of them living in sub‐Saharan Africa and developing Asia.
# Around 2.6 billion people did not have access to clean cooking options: 35% of them were in sub‐Saharan Africa, 25% in India and 15% in China.
# A lack of access to energy not only impedes economic development, but also causes serious harm to health and is a barrier to progress on gender equality and education.

The transition to net zero is for and about people. It is paramount to remain aware that not every worker in the fossil fuel industry can ease into a clean energy job, so governments need to promote training and devote resources to facilitating new opportunities. Citizens must be active participants in the entire process, making them feel part of the transition and not simply subject to it. These themes are among those being explored by the Global
Commission on People‐Centred Clean Energy Transitions, which I convened at the start of 2021 to examine how to enable citizens to benefit from the opportunities and navigate the disruptions of the shift to a clean energy economy. Headed by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark and composed of government leaders, ministers and prominent thinkers, the Global Commission will make public its key recommendations ahead of COP26 in November.

The pathway laid out in our Roadmap is global in scope, but each country will need to design its own strategy, taking into account its specific circumstances. There is no one‐size‐fits‐all approach to clean energy transitions. Plans need to reflect countries’ differing stages of economic development: in our pathway, advanced economies reach net zero before developing economies do. As the world’s leading energy authority, the IEA stands ready to provide governments with support and advice as they design and implement their own roadmaps, and to encourage the international co‐operation across sectors that is so essential to reaching net zero by 2050.