Trump’s Ultimatum Leaves the International Energy Agency Facing Oblivion if it Won’t Abandon Net Zero Fantasies

The US has declared it will withdraw from the IEA if it fails to reform.

The International Energy Agency (IEA), established in 1974 in the wake of the Arab oil embargo, was founded with a clear and vital mission: to ensure energy security for its member nations, with coordinated oil stockpiling and rigorous data and analysis to guide energy planning and investment. For decades, it served as a beacon of pragmatic, evidence-based policymaking. It was also an important source of data and energy best practice for policymakers of non-member states around the world.

However, like other major global institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the IEA has strayed far from its original charter, as I have written about extensively (here, here and here). Over the past decade or so, it has morphed into a mouthpiece for the progressive-Leftist establishment, particularly the Brussels-based European Union elite and the US Democratic Party, peddling climate alarmism and promoting unrealistic ‘Net Zero’ policies aligned with the Paris Agreement. This ideological capture has undermined its credibility.

On Tuesday, the US Energy Secretary Chris Wright expressed his determination to either reform the IEA or withdraw from it — taking with it 18% of the agency’s budget. Mr Wright’s threat is a clarion call for accountability for an institution that should once again be made fit-for-purpose. This move is not an isolated act but part of a broader counter-revolution in energy policy under President Donald Trump’s administration. President Trump and his senior policy team seek to dismantle the politicised narratives that have infiltrated global institutions.