The International Energy Agency asks the oil companies to stop all prospecting to meet the objectives of reducing CO2 emissions.

Nicolas Barré takes stock of a current economic issue.

The warning is unprecedented: to meet the objectives of reducing CO2 emissions, the International Energy Agency is telling the oil companies to stop all prospecting.

It is radical and it is a historic turning point because we must remember that the International Energy Agency was created in the wake of the first oil shock of 1974 which traumatized the developed countries.

At the time, the world feared that it would run out of oil, and the mission of this global agency was to ensure that the black gold market was no longer in short supply.

Today, this same agency dreams of a shortage in a way, since it recommends that oil and gas companies stop any exploration project for a new site this year.

She cannot impose it.

No, but it sends a signal to states ahead of COP26 to be held in Glasgow in November.

Denmark has canceled oil and gas exploration licenses.

Upon entering the White House, Joe Biden suspended drilling licenses on federal lands.

It's temporary but it's new.

And for the private sector, things are also moving.

On Tuesday, Engie announced that it wanted to increase its renewable electricity production capacity from 30 to 80 gigawatts by 2030. As for oil companies like Total, BP or Shell, they are all investing heavily in solar and wind power. , although none are prepared to stop exploring for new oil or gas deposits.

Is it unrealistic to stop?

The IEA thinks so. This is very ambitious because the energy in the world depends 80% on fossil fuels. But the IEA estimates that oil could fall by 70% by 2050 and coal by 90%. On the other hand, wind and solar power, which currently weigh 10%, could represent 70% by this deadline. Nuclear power would also have its place in this energy mix. To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, the Agency also recommends the end of thermal cars in 2035, a goal that several countries are in the process of adopting. In short, what the IEA experts tell us is that the world has a quarter of a century to learn to live without oil, gas and coal. And it starts today.