All around the world, sustainable energy transitions are underway. But how far have we progressed? It’s clear that action needs to be accelerated, but in which priority areas, and by how much?

Tracking energy transition indicators of both outcomes (e.g. CO2 emissions) and underlying drivers (e.g. clean energy investment) is important for developing a clear understanding of how far we’ve come, while additionally propelling further ambition and action. As the adage goes, “that which is measured, improves.

This year, countries around the world are undertaking an important exercise to assess global progress toward achieving the goals laid out in the Paris Agreement. This exercise – the Talanoa Dialogue – is intended not only to take stock of progress, but also to help inform and raise ambition of the next round of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) – commitments made by countries to tackle climate change.

Increased ambition is greatly needed: the IEA estimates that current NDCs will set us on a path consistent with about 2.7°C warming by 2100, greatly overshooting the Paris Agreement goals of limiting temperature rise to well below 2°C and pursuing efforts towards 1.5 °C.

As a key input to the Talanoa Dialogue and broader tracking efforts, IEA will release Tracking Clean Energy Progress 2018 on 22 May, providing the current status of key energy indicators, measuring their progress today against what would be needed by 2030, and highlighting opportunities for further technology development and innovation.

The Talanoa Dialogue is structured around three questions: Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we get there? The IEA’s full response to these questions can be read in our first official input to the Talanoa Dialogue.