Asia disputes IEA’s call to curb new oil, gas, coal investments

The International Energy Agency this week outlined the path to net-zero emissions, but some Asian nations pushed back.

Asian energy officials on Wednesday disputed a call from the International Energy Agency (IEA) for no new oil, natural gas and coal investments for the world to be able to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, viewing that approach as too narrow. The IEA, which has previously championed the oil and gas industry, this week outlined a path to net-zero emissions that suggested stopping new investments in oil, gas and coal supply, retiring coal-fired plants in advanced economies by 2030, and banning sales of new internal combustion engine cars by 2035. Energy companies in Australia, the biggest carbon emitter per capita among the world’s richest nations, and officials in Japan and the Philippines said there were many ways to get to net zero, even as the IEA said its pathway was “the most technically feasible, cost-effective and socially acceptable”.