Short answers, pulled from the story.
The International Energy Agency was founded on the 18th of November 1974, in direct response to the 1973 oil crisis. Its founding purpose was to prevent future energy supply disruptions by coordinating emergency oil reserves, reducing dependence on oil, and promoting energy efficiency among member nations.
The IEA has 32 member countries and 13 association countries. Together they represent 75% of global energy demand. Lithuania was the most recent full member to join, in 2022.
Fatih Birol has served as executive director since the 1st of September 2015. He was previously the IEA's chief economist and was the first official from within the organization to be appointed to lead it. He was appointed to an unprecedented third four-year term in 2022.
IEA member countries are required to hold oil stocks equivalent to at least 90 days of the previous year's net imports. These emergency reserves have been released six times: in January 1991 during the Gulf War, in 2005 after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, in 2011 during the Libyan crisis, twice in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and in 2026 in response to the Iran war. The 2026 release, totalling 400 million barrels, was the largest in the agency's history.
Net Zero by 2050 was published by the IEA in May 2021. It was the first comprehensive pathway for the global energy sector to reach net zero emissions by 2050 while maintaining secure and affordable energy supplies. The report also served as the basis for an interactive game created with the Financial Times.
The IEA has faced sustained criticism for underestimating renewable energy growth. In 1998, it predicted global wind capacity would reach 47.4 GW by 2020; that level was actually reached by the end of 2004. Researchers also found that in 2008, global wind power additions ran four times higher than the IEA's average estimate from its 1995-2004 projections. Its solar cost assumptions were criticized for running 100% above market prices during the 2010s.