BRIAN MOTHERWAY
BRIAN MOTHERWAY
TITLE: HEAD OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND INCLUSIVE TRANSITIONS
COMPANY: INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY
INDUSTRY: INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
LOCATION: PARIS, FRANCE
Brian’ s strong experience in the energy transition includes nine years at the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, where he rose to CEO. He moved to the IEA in Paris in 2015.
At the same time, optimism is growing: energy efficiency has become the top investment priority, with models such as Energy-as-a-Service( EaaS) enabling progress without heavy capital commitments.
“ AI will reveal entirely new ways to think about energy management. But it doesn’ t replace the need to get the basics right, like choosing efficient equipment, passive design measures, smart buildings and strong appliance standards,” says Brian Motherway, Head of Energy Efficiency and Inclusive Transitions at the International Energy Agency.
Digital building technologies now deliver real-time performance data, predictive maintenance and eventually autonomous optimisation.
Transparency, driven by smart systems, is helping organisations identify high-energy assets and usage patterns – turning data into action.
Industrial decarbonisation accelerates with AI Industrial organisations remain at the centre of the global economy and face the toughest decarbonisation challenges.
Yet between 2023 and 2025, many made progress in renewable energy, electrifying
92 February 2026