Energ. Policy 87, 229–239 (2015)

The International Energy Agency (IEA) was established in 1974 to coordinate responses to oil supply disruptions. So how has it become one of the leading voices calling for action on climate change?

Harald Heubaum from the University of London, UK, and Frank Biermann from Utrecht University, The Netherlands, conducted interviews and document analysis to trace the IEA's evolution. They found that the organization's recent activities have been crucial in bringing the energy and climate change governance agendas together, albeit somewhat unintentionally.

The IEA's expanding efforts to collect and disseminate emissions data was a first step towards such integration, bringing the Agency into partnership with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Meanwhile, the IEA's work on renewables led to cooperation with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). As the policy architectures came together, the IEA's widely respected leadership embraced the challenges of transitioning to a low-carbon energy system.

Such advocacy will be a significant element in persuading traditionally detached partners to face up to the symbiotic challenges facing energy and climate change policy in the coming decades.