“Governments need to resolve this at COP26 by giving a clear and unmistakable signal that they are committed to rapidly scaling up the clean and resilient technologies of the future,” he says.

“The social and economic benefits of accelerating clean energy transitions are huge and the costs of inaction are immense.”

Today’s climate pledges would result in only 20 per cent of the emissions reductions by 2030 that are necessary to put the world on a path towards net zero by 2050, the IEA report finds.

Indeed, the world has to more than triple its investment in clean energy projects over the next decade. And some of this spending needs to happen in developing economies, where financing is scarce.

Despite this, the report also stresses the investment to reach net zero by 2050 is less burdensome than it might appear.

More than 40 per cent of the required emissions reductions would come from measures that would pay for themselves, such as improving efficiency, limiting gas leakage or installing wind or solar in places where they are now the cheapest options.

And successfully pursuing net zero would create a market for wind turbines, solar panels, lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells of well over $US1 trillion ($1.36 trillion) a year by 2050, comparable in size to the current oil market.

The agency spells out what government pledges to reduce emissions to date mean for the energy sector and the climate, and outlines which pathways have the best chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.

The first of three possible pathways would reach net zero emissions by 2050 and keep warming to 1.5 degrees, in line with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recommendations. Annual clean energy investment worldwide will need to more than triple by 2030 to about $4 trillion.

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The second scenario is based on the energy and climate measures governments have actually put in place to date. Although all the net growth in energy demand through to 2050 is met by low-emissions sources, annual emissions remain at today’s levels. This means global average temperatures will keep rising when they hit 2.6 degrees above pre-industrial levels in 2100.

The third pathway is one in which the net zero emissions pledges announced by governments so far are implemented in time, and in full. This means demand for fossil fuels will peak by 2025, and global carbon emissions fall by 40 per cent by 2050. The global average temperature rise in 2100 would be held at about 2.1 degrees.

Grattan Institute climate and energy spokesperson Tony Wood said if countries were serious about net zero they would have to be more ambitious in their pledges.

“At some point either in Glasgow, or shortly after that, they’re going to have to agree on a new process,” Mr Wood said.

The IEA says there is a looming risk of more turbulence and volatility ahead for energy markets because the world is not investing enough to meet future energy needs.

The energy sector is responsible for almost three‐quarters of the emissions that have already pushed global average temperatures 1.1 degrees higher since the pre-industrial age.

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