Fossil fuel firms risk wasting billions by ignoring climate change, says IEA

Energy companies are making a 'strategic mistake' and could waste billions of dollars of investment by thinking they are immune to climate policy, says IEA chief economist Fatih Birol

The world's fossil fuel companies risk wasting billions of dollars of investment by not taking global action to fight climate change seriously, according to the chief economist of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Fatih Birol, who will take the top job at the IEA in September and is one of the world's most influential voices on energy, warned that companies making this mistake would also miss out on investment opportunities in clean energy.