U.S. threatens to quit the International Energy Agency: reform on climate or we leave

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday that the United States may consider leaving the International Energy Agency (IEA) unless a deal is reached on climate issues. “Either we reform the IEA, or we leave the IEA. My strong preference is to reform it,” Wright said during an event in New York hosted by The Wall Street Journal.

The Paris-based agency has for more than half a century provided research and data to industrialized governments to guide policy around energy security, supply and investment. The United States provides about a quarter of the group’s funding.

In recent years the IEA expanded its focus beyond oil and gas supply to include clean energy, as member governments sought guidance on meeting the Paris Agreement’s climate targets and moving away from fossil-fuel dependence.

But the Trump administration and the oil industry have criticized the IEA’s attention to climate change and called on the agency to focus mainly on oil, gas and coal. Wright said he wants to reform the agency so it “focuses on its core mission — and does it well and thoughtfully — not on scenarios that are more politically popular.”

Source: Reuters