International Energy Agency

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is an autonomous intergovernmental organization headquartered in Paris, France, and an autonomous agency of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Widely regarded as a leading global authority on energy, it sits at the heart of the global dialogue on energy security and clean energy transitions, providing reliable data, analysis, and policy recommendations aimed at securing a sustainable and affordable energy future aligned with the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The IEA was founded in 1974 in response to the 1973–1974 oil crisis, when an oil embargo by major producers exposed the vulnerability of industrialised countries dependent on oil imports. Its original mission was to help member nations coordinate collective responses to oil supply disruptions through the strategic release of emergency oil stocks. Today it has a far wider mandate, taking an all-fuels, all-technology approach covering renewables, oil, gas and coal, energy efficiency, clean energy technologies, electricity systems and markets, and energy access.

Under Executive Director Dr Fatih Birol, who took office in 2015, the Agency has broadened its energy security mandate beyond oil to include electricity, natural gas, renewables and critical minerals, and expanded membership to major emerging economies. As a result, its coverage of global energy demand has grown from 40% to over 80%. The IEA is best known for its authoritative statistics and flagship analyses, including the World Energy Outlook.

Given its central role in shaping energy policy, data standards, and analysis of clean energy technologies, investment and innovation, developments in the energy innovation space are directly relevant to the IEA's mandate and analytical work.