Global Energy Demand to Slump 6% amid Covid-19 Pandemic, Says IEA

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic create a biggest shock to global energy since the World War II as the demand on fuel worldwide could collapse by 6% amid the restriction measures that have been introduced in many countries amid the virus outbreak.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) released a Global Energy Review 2020 on Thursday to point out the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis on energy demand globally and CO2 emissions. 

The report forecast an energy demand will fall by 6% in 2020, a seven times the decline after the global financial crisis, with could be fall as much as 9% and 11% in the United States and the European Union respectively.

Global energy demand plugned by 3.8% in the first quarter of 2020.

IEA said that the economic lockdown across the world in each month has eliminated annual global energy demand by about 1.5%, based on the levels seen in early April.

Changing in electricity consumption during the nation shutdown in an effort to slow the spread of virus, has shown a significant decline in demand of electricity use by 20% or more. IEA expects the power demand would  decline by 5% in 2020, the largest drop since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

The coal demand as a hardest hit fell by almost 8% compared with the first quarter of 2019, mainly impact from the severe outbreak in China, which is a coal-based economy. Follow by the decline in oil demand, down nearly 5% in the first quarter due to the limitation and suspension of travel, especially on aviation, and could lead to slump by 9% in 2020.

While renewables were the only energy that recorded a growth in demand, affecting by larger installed capacity and priority dispatch.