The world energy regulator expects the novel coronavirus crisis to cause demand for energy to plunge globally amid the worst shock to the sector in 70 years.
The International Energy Agency, or IEA, said emissions will fall as a result of the pandemic that has shut down much of the global economy and caused a collapse in energy demand "seven times greater than the decline after the 2008 global financial crisis".
The IEA's Global Energy Review projects that energy demand will fall 6 percent in 2020, which the agency described as "unprecedented", and "the equivalent of losing the entire energy demand of India".
In its report, the IEA said the most severe drop in energy demand since World War II would trigger multi-decade lows for the world's consumption of oil, gas and coal while renewable energy continued to grow.
It said the steady rise of renewable energy combined with the collapse in demand for fossil fuels means clean electricity will play its largest ever role in the global energy system this year, and help erase a decade's growth of global carbon emissions.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said: "This is a historic shock to the entire energy world. Amid today's unparalleled health and economic crises, the plunge in demand for nearly all major fuels is staggering, especially for coal, oil and gas. Only renewables are holding up during the previously unheard of slump in electricity use."
The report said renewable energy is expected to grow by 5 percent this year, to make up almost 30 percent of the world's shrinking demand for electricity.
The growth of renewables could spur fossil fuel companies to generate more clean energy, according to Birol, who said governments should include clean energy at the heart of economic stimulus packages to ensure a green recovery.
Birol said: "It is still too early to determine the longer-term impacts, but the energy industry that emerges from this crisis will be significantly different from the one that came before."
Oil market prices turned negative for the first time in the United States earlier this month, while global efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 have led to severe restrictions that will cause the biggest drop in global oil demand in 25 years.
Demand for gas is expected to fall by 5 percent, after a decade of uninterrupted growth. Coal demand is forecast to fall by 8 percent compared with 2019.
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