The International Energy Agency (IEA) report indicates that long-term instability factors facing the global energy sector have increased due to a series of events last year. The report, titled World Energy Outlook 2014 (WEO-2014), projects that by 2040, demand growth in major global energy markets will reach 37%, placing greater stress on the global energy system. Global market demand for coal and oil is expected to plateau by 2040. Meanwhile, benefiting from government subsidies (approximately 1200 hundred million USD in 2013) and continuously falling costs, renewable energy technologies are poised to rise rapidly. The report states that by 2040, the global energy supply landscape will be divided into four nearly equal parts: low-carbon energy (nuclear power and renewable energy), oil, natural gas, and coal.

Renewable energy is expected to become the leading source of electricity generation globally

"As our global energy system continues to develop and transform, urgent signs are becoming increasingly apparent," said IEA Executive Director MariavanderHoeven. "However, we expect the renewable energy sector to become increasingly 'powerful' and is poised to become the world's leading source of electricity generation—although incredible, early signs are already emerging."