The International Energy Agency is calling for the world to make radical changes in order to cut its CO2 emissions.

If global policies continue in their current form, CO² emissions will rise by 130% and oil demand will rise by 70% by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), which is calling for a global energy technology revolution.

In the latest edition of its biennial publication, Energy Technology Perspectives, IEA provided a number of proposals which outlined how emissions could either be brought back to current levels or halved, by 2050.

To wean the world off oil completely, the IEA has predicted that there would need to be a “virtual decarbonisation of the power sector” – every year until 2050, 35 coal and 20 gas-fired station would have to be fitted with CO² capture and storage technology, while 32 nuclear power stations and 17.5 wind turbines would also need to be built each year.

In addition, an eight-fold reduction in the carbon intensity of the global transport structure would be needed. Nobuo Tanaka, Executive Director of the IEA, explained: “There should be no doubt – meeting the target of a 50% cut in emissions represents a formidable challenge. We would require immediate policy action and technological transition on an unprecedented scale. It will essentially require a new global energy revolution, which would completely transform the way we produce and use energy.”

If the world did manage to halve its emissions by 2050, there would be huge energy security benefits and oil demand would be 27% below its 2005 level.

Click here for further details about IEA’s Energy Technology Perspectives publication.