The International Energy Agency believes that renewable energy will be the single most elastic source in the face of the biggest shock to the global energy sector in 70 years due to the Covid-19, where the agency says it will eliminate the demand for fossil fuels, and that it led to the collapse of energy demand and thus the global recession to a degree that exceeded many times the recession resulting from the global financial crisis.

The agency asserts in a report that it is the largest decrease in energy demand since the Second World War, and will result in low levels of world consumption of oil, gas and coal for several decades, while renewable energy continues to grow, which means that clean electricity will play a major role in a system global energy this year, will help erase a decade of global carbon emissions.

“The drop in demand for almost all of the major fuels is staggering, especially for coal, oil and gas,” says Fatih Birol, CEO of IEA. He added: “Only renewables are standing up during the new recession. Renewable energy is expected to grow by 5% during 2020, to account for nearly 30% of the shrinking global demand for electricity, and the growth of renewable sources can motivate fossil fuel companies towards clean energy generation”.

Birol advises, “Governments should include clean energy at the heart of economic stimulus packages to ensure a green recovery. It is still too early to determine the long-term effects, but the energy industry will emerge from this crisis significantly different from those that came before.”

The Coronavirus had sparked a crisis for fossil fuel commodities, as well as the collapse of oil market prices, which turned negative for the first time in the United States, and restrictions on travel and the impact of the global economy led to the largest decline in global demand for oil in 25 years.

Gas demand is expected to decrease by 5%, after a decade of continuous growth, which is the largest decline since gas was widely used in the second half of the 20^th century. Coal demand is expected to decrease by 8% compared to 2019, the largest decline since the end of World War II.