Fatih Birol re-elected chief of Int’l Energy Agency

PARIS

The governing board of the International Energy Agency has re-elected Fatih Birol as executive director for a second term.

The unanimous decision to extend his tenure by another four years follows a process initiated by IEA member countries at their last ministerial meeting in November 2017, the IEA said in a statement on Jan. 22.

Under Birol’s leadership the IEA is implementing a new modernization strategy based on three pillars, it noted.

These include “opening the doors” of the agency to emerging economies, which has seen the IEA’s share of global energy demand rise to over 70 percent from about 40 percent in 2015. Another pillar is expanding energy security beyond oil to natural gas and electricity. And the third pillar is turning the IEA into the global clean energy hub, including for energy efficiency.

“While I am proud that our members have reaffirmed their confidence in me, I am aware that the decision would not have been reached without the strategic direction and guidance the board has given me and the hard work and dedication of IEA colleagues,” Birol said.