Global energy demand and harmful emmissions to rise says IEA report

Nov 7, 2006, 12:40 GMT

London - Global energy demand, driven primarily by increased consumption in China and India, is set to rise by 53 per cent by 2030 unless drastic new government measures to curb the trend are introduced, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted Tuesday.

The World Energy Outlook 2006, presented by the Paris-based IEA at a news conference in London, also predicted that greenhouse emissions would rise by 52 per cent over the next 25 years.

Over 70 per cent of the consumption increase would originate from developing countries, led by China and India, as imports of oil and gas were likely to grow even faster than demand, the report said.

World oil demand is forecast to reach 116 million barrel per day by 2030, compared with 84 barrels a day in 2005.

China was likely to overtake the US as the world's biggest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) before 2010.

But despite the predicted rise in energy consumption in Asia, it was wrong to blame countries like India and China for trying to emulate the path of economic growth chosen before by western industrialized countries, said Claude Mandil, Executive Director of the IEA Tuesday.

Instead, a combination of 'strong policy action,' investment and the search for alternative energy supplies was required to to move the world onto a 'more sustainable energy path.'

The report advocated extra investment of 20.3 trillion dollars in new oil facilities to curb a rise in oil prices, and said nuclear power could make a 'major contribution' to enhancing the security of energy supplies and mitigating carbon-dioxide emissions.