The International Energy Agency (IEA)

IEA: Daughter of an Oil Crisis

The First Oil Crisis of 1973 gave birth to what we now have as the International Energy Agency (IEA). That was when oil supply to USA and its allies was cut off by Saudi Arabia during the gulf war blaming USA for unfair support to Israel. The result was a major energy crisis with severe shortage of oil and a sudden escalation in process. There was a financial fiasco, and many businesses closed. A realization developed among the industrialized nations that energy supplies, which were mostly coming from the Middle-East, and on which depended their booming economies, were not secure. They needed to reduce their dependence on fossil fuel from the Middle-East. It was soon realized that even if the routes were secure, deposits would themselves exhaust because of the ever-increasing demand of the industries.

The Expanded Mission

Monitoring the energy situation worldwide for the security for its 29 members being the primary mission of the IEA, environmental concerns have also been taken up. “Our mission is guided by four main areas of focus: energy security, economic development, environmental awareness and engagement worldwide”, says the website. The IEA collects and disseminates knowledge and best practices in the field of energy through various workshops, webinars, videos, etc.

Publications

Towards this end the IEA has compiled and published many useful books. Twenty of these are for sale, chief among them being World Energy Outlook 2017, CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion 2017, World Energy Statistics 2017, and books in the Market Reports Series giving authentic data on the various segments of the energy market. The latest will be the Market Series Report: Coal 2017, to be released on 18 December 2017. In addition, about seventy free books and reports are also downloadable.

The International Low-Carbon Energy Technology Platform

Created by IEA in 2010, ‌the (International Low-Carbon Energy) Technology Platform promotes engagement among its member and partner countries, the business community and other international organizations, on the subject of clean technologies. It holds dialogue workshops, and prepares how-to-guides and cross-cutting analyses on this subject.

Membership

At present the IEA has 29-member countries, with 2 accession countries, and 7 association countries. To become a member, a country has to meet a number of specific criteria.

Governance and Secretariat

The main decision-making power lies with Governing Board, which is supported by various standing committees and groups, and affiliated groups from business and industry. The Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director Executive of the Secretariat are Dr Fatih Birol and  Paul Simons, respectively. The secretariat is housed in France.

Staff

At the moment, the agency has a staff in excess of 240 highly motivated professionals, which include data managers and statisticians, modelers, energy analysts, , technicians, and support staff.

Contact

The following contact information has been taken from their website as of December 2017.Address:31-35 rue de la Fédération75739 Paris Cedex 15 FrancePhone number: +33 (0)1 40 57 65 00Email: info@iea.orgHours Monday - Friday, 9-5 CETSource: The IEA website