--- title: IEA Head Fatih Birol Wants the World to Use Clean Energy description: When Faith Birol speaks, energy companies and policymakers listen, informing decisions that determine how humans power their lives. canonical: https://time.com/6109434/fatih-birol-interview-cop26/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-10-28T10:50:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:51:52.993Z article:section: Science og:title: Meet the Man Who Defines the Energy Markets—And Wants the World to Go Clean og:description: When IEA head Faith Birol speaks, energy companies and policymakers around the world listen og:url: https://time.com/6109434/fatih-birol-interview-cop26/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86e5b8bc655d77fb/698a1e39d075335755e6c181/climate.cop-Fatih-Birol.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: climate.cop-Fatih-Birol og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Meet the Man Who Defines the Energy Markets—And Wants the World to Go Clean twitter:description: When IEA head Faith Birol speaks, energy companies and policymakers around the world listen twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86e5b8bc655d77fb/698a1e39d075335755e6c181/climate.cop-Fatih-Birol.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Meet the Man Who Defines the Energy Markets—And Wants the World to Go Clean > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=eeea0019-4d9a-4c4f-8a5c-eeb70bc07c03&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The Goals of COP26 and How Far We Have to Go [Watch (HLS stream): The Goals of COP26 and How Far We Have to Go](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IK67o3fF.m3u8) (1:01)  _Published 2021-10-26. The stakes at COP26, the U.N. climate summit that begins Nov. 1 in Glasgow, couldn’t be higher. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry has called the summit the world’s “last best hope” to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. Over two weeks, some 20,000 delegates representing 195 countries will try to resolve significant differences on how the world should cut its greenhouse gas emissions, with the aim to “keep 1.5°C alive.”_  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Oct 28, 2021 10:50 AM UTC  Fatih Birol Fatih Birol Simon Dawson—Bloomberg/Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Oct 28, 2021 10:50 AM UTC As the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol oversees research on trends that define energy markets. When Birol speaks, energy companies and policymakers around the world listen, informing decisions that determine how humans power homes, factories and cars. This year, Birol turned the world upside down when he declared the dawn of a new world economy powered by clean energy after a century of an economy built around oil. First, in May a report from the agency said that there is no longer any need to invest in new fossil-fuel supply infrastructure; then, in October, the agency called for a tripling of global [investment in clean energy](https://time.com/6093845/how-heat-hurts-the-economy/) and related technologies—some $4 trillion annually by 2030\. “A new global energy economy is emerging,” Birol says. “Clean-energy technologies are slowly but surely going to replace the existing energy industry.” For anyone following the details of climate policy, Birol has been a significant presence in the conversation in recent years. He has been a headliner at major gatherings, and his analysis has been widely considered authoritative. And for a long time, activists have criticized Birol and the IEA for not doing enough. **Read More:** [_The Energy Transition Is in Full Swing. It’s Not Happening Fast Enough_](https://time.com/6106341/green-energy-transition-iea/) But in 2021 those complaints have all but disappeared as Birol has become one of the most persuasive speakers on the need to rapidly grow clean energy. [His case for renewables](https://time.com/collection-post/6095810/fatih-birol/) is manifold. The cost of clean energy has fallen, making it cheaper than fossil fuels in many places around the globe. Deploying clean energy can also grow the economy, creating a market worth more than $1 trillion by midcentury while providing power to developing countries in the Global South. And perhaps most important, investment in renewables will simultaneously keep global temperatures from rising to unsustainable levels. The IEA has also laid out specific clean-energy milestones; by 2050, 90% of electricity should come from renewable-energy sources. Still, Birol knows his analysis can go only so far, and he hopes governments take COP26 as an opportunity to embed his recommendations into policy. A successful COP would send a signal to investors that clean energy is here to stay and that continued [investment in fossil fuels is risky](https://time.com/6110667/fossil-fuel-companies-cop26-influence/), he says—and governments can play a pivotal role in spreading the word. “We need to find different ways of supporting the right choices,” Birol says. **Read More of TIME’s COP26 Coverage:** [_Meet the People Working to Accomplish the COP26 Agenda_](https://time.com/6109403/cop26-summit-agenda/) ## Transcript Ever since climate change rose to be an issue of global concern, negotiators have met annually trying to figure out the best way to tackle the issue. This year's meeting is called COP 26. And it's bound to be a landmark one. Negotiators are gathering in Glasgow, Scotland, with the goal of keeping temperature rise to 1.5 degrees celsius. That's an important target. Scientists say that after 1.5 degrees of warming, we're likely to experience some of the worst impacts of climate change, as well as the potential for irreversible tipping points that would alter life on the planet as we know it. And so countries, activists, business leaders, are all gathering in Glasgow to discuss how we get this done. How do we phase out coal? How do we deploy renewables? How do we protect nature, which in turn protects the climate? 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