The IEA calls for targets for RES-HC and for an increase by at least 1/3 in RES-HC globally for 2°C

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  • PUBLISHED: June 12, 2017

The International Energy Agency, which includes OECD countries and covers other major economies such as China or India, has issued its 2017 Tracking Clean Energy Progress report. In this publication, the Agency assesses the consistency of the deployment of different energy technologies with the 2°C scenario, and identifies those that are on-track and those that are not.

Among the key messages of the report: the current deployment rates of renewables for heating and cooling are not aligned with the 2°C trajectory. The IEA points to slow deployments globally, notably due to the cheap price of fossil heating fuels – such as fuel oil. Geothermal heat pumps have been on a positive trend, while the direct use of geothermal heat remains largely under exploited.

To align the deployment of renewables for heating and cooling with the 2°C scenario, the report supports the introduction of sectorial objectives or targets for renewables in this sector. It underlines the role of local planning, due to the decentralized nature of the sector, in removing economic and non-economic barriers. Altogether, the Agency suggests that the deployment of RES for heating and cooling should increase by a third to be aligned with the 2°C target globally.

In light of the current debate on article 23 of the proposal for a recast Renewable Energy Directive, this report comes as a strong argument in favour of a robust and ambitious measure for the “mainstreaming of renewables in heating and cooling”. Considering the IEA’s recommendation, the proposal in the Draft Report by Jose Blanco Lopez is quite positive and consistent with the climate objectives.

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