Quotes from Fatih Birol

When a person from a community goes and buys a car, he or she should have the incentive, financial incentive, to buy a more efficient, more environment-friendly car. This shouldn't be only left to the intention of the people. We cannot only rely on the ethics or the moral of the people.

I have refused to buy a car for the reasons of sustainability.

Energy is a linchpin of economic prosperity, with energy security, reliability, and affordability key preconditions for sustainable growth.

Fossil fuel subsidies are a hand brake as we drive along the road to a sustainable energy future.

Humanity's future, to say nothing of its prosperity, will depend on how the world tackles two central energy challenges: securing reliable supplies of affordable energy and switching to efficient low-carbon energy.

We should not cling to crude down to the last drop - we should leave oil before it leaves us.

The energy sector presents exceptional opportunities for governments and investors.

We are considered to be a watchdog, the IEA, and a watchdog fulfils its task only if it barks. So I bark when I think there is a need for barking.

I think my biggest fear is having another global war which might have been a result of sharing the primary commodities in the world.

I always thought that using more efficient energy sources, pushing the clean energy technologies such as renewable energies are important.

I think, for OPEC, the main challenge is to have a price level which brings good profits to them, good incentives for the investments, but at the same time, to prevent prices going to very high levels.

The golden era for coal is over.

Renewables are critical in our fight against climate change.

Renewable energy is no longer a niche fuel.

Tar sands are attractive, but like biofuels, they will never replace Middle East oil.

I believe there should be some financial incentives to make the right choice: to make them to buy the right car or not to buy a car but using public transport systems. I believe that these financial incentives are important.

Industry has to find a way. together with the governments, to find new modes, new modalities for transportation.

India needs three things for its energy sector: investment, investment, and investment.

Governments have always played an important role in energy investment, but this role has been increasing due to both geography and technology.

We should not only look at the short-term economic benefits of fossil fuels but also at the bad news for climate change. We should therefore not greet the fossil fuel age unconditionally.

Strong policies and innovation can make the difference for energy security, climate change, air quality, and universal access to modern energy services in parallel - in short, building a secure, affordable, sustainable energy system that is available to all.

We have to use cars much more efficiently. We have to look at alternative technologies of cars such as biofuels or, even more importantly, electric cars.

When I look at the many energy-using sectors - such as businesses, households, electricity generators, the transportation sector - I see that the business sector is the one which uses the energy efficiency potential the highest, because they know that using energy more efficiently will also reduce their costs.

The developed, oil-consuming countries can do several things to ease the transition to the new energy order. One would be to boost vehicle efficiency.