The long shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic could bring about the slowest decade of global energy demand growth in nearly 100 years according to the IEA’s flagship World Economic Outlook (WEO). Even if the global economy rallies relatively swiftly, the IEA still projects that “the era of growth in global oil demand comes to an end within ten years.”
For the IEA’s two most bullish scenarios – the Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS) and the Delayed Recovery Scenario (DRS) – the 2020s will be the last decade of significant growth before “oil demand flattens out in the 2030s.” The key differentiator between the two scenarios is that a “prolonged economic downturn knocks more than 4mn b/d off oil demand in the DRS, compared with the STEPS, keeping it below 100mn b/d.” Under the centerpiece STEPS scenario, “which reflects today’s announced policy intentions and targets,” global oil demand reaches pre-Covid levels in 2023. (CONTINUED - 1021 WORDS)
