Global electricity grid must be upgraded urgently to hit climate goals, says IEA

Investment needs to double to more than $600bn a year by 2030 after ‘decade of stagnation’, says agency

Ministers have been urged to “open their eyes” to the need to build a vast network of new electricity grids to allow countries to hit climate goals, the chief of the world’s energy watchdog has said.

Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), has warned that the equivalent of the entire global electricity grid – 80m km of grid – needs to be added or refurbished by 2040 to hit climate targets and ensure reliable power supplies.