The new report contains the latest IEA analysis of the impact of the pandemic: projections for 2020 include declines of five percent in global energy, seven percent in energy-related CO2 emissions and 18 percent in energy investments.

Renewable energies play a major role in all World Energy Outlook scenarios, with the sun at the center. Supporting measures and mature technologies provide very favorable access to capital in leading markets. In most countries, solar PV is consistently cheaper than new coal or gas power plants. According to scenario guidelines, renewable energies will account for 80 percent of worldwide growth in electricity demand over the next ten years. Hydropower remains the largest renewable source, but solar is the main growth source, followed by onshore and offshore wind. However, the World Energy Outlook 2020 also shows that strong growth in renewable energy requires robust investments in power grids.