WEO week: The impacts of Covid-19

Covid-19 has shocked the energy system, but there are still major uncertainties about the severity and duration of pandemic, its economic implications and the response of policymakers: with reference to different regional examples as well as global trends, this session will explore the factors that will determine what type of energy system emerges from today’s crisis.

Moderator

• Laszlo Varro

Speakers

• Stephanie Bouckaert
• Tae-Yoon Kim

Panellists

• Ariel Yepez, Chief of the Energy Division, Inter-American Development Bank
• Nuki Agya Utama, Executive Director, ASEAN Centre for Energy
• Angela Lusigi, Strategic Advisor on Africa, UNDP
• Nigel Pain, Senior Economist, OECD

The World Energy Outlook-2020 provides a comprehensive view of how the global energy system could develop in the coming decades. This year’s exceptional circumstances require an exceptional approach, and the new Outlook explores in detail the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic for the energy sector and the near-term actions that could accelerate clean energy transitions.

Following the release of the new Outlook, the IEA is hosting a series of live-streamed discussions on different aspects of the analysis, one each day at 2pm CET through the week beginning 16 November.

The discussions will cover the impacts of Covid-19, the outlooks for electricity and for fuels, the pathways to net zero emissions, and the investments that can accelerate clean energy transitions. In each case, an introductory presentation on the WEO-2020 from some of its lead authors will set the stage, followed by commentary and insights from invited expert panelists and a moderated discussion.