Worldwide demand for energy will increase by 44 percent in the next 20 years, with developing economies – particularly those in China, India, Brazil, and Russia – accounting for nearly 75 percent of the demand growth, according to a forecast from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The agency predicts that oil will supply about 32 percent of the world’s energy needs by 2030 – down from about 36 percent today – and that wind and solar power will account for 11 percent of global energy supplies.
The EIA forecast does not take into account the impact of a possible global agreement on reducing greenhouse gases. Without such an accord, global emissions of carbon dioxide are expected to rise by a third in the next 20 years, reaching 40 billion metric tons a year – a level that scientists say would sharply increase temperatures and destabilize the global climate system.
The EIA forecasts that oil prices will begin to rise next year as the global recession eases, hitting $110 a barrel by 2015 – nearly double the average 2009 price.
This article originally appeared on Yale Environment 360 at http://e360.yale.edu
[photo: flickr/scottjlowe]
1 comment
Albeit these aren’t real news this is interesting.
With peak oil approaching fast (unless we already reached it) we need to work on both alternatives and ways to use less oil and energy in general.
Developing countries will need a lot of energy this isn’t negotiable. But can’t we – ie. rich and developed nations – do with less energy ? Energy efficiency would go a long way and would benefit everyone.
Two examples of this:
– North Americans consume twice as more oil per capita than Europeans. There are huge economies to be realized there. This would benefit US and Canadian citizens and the whole world.
– European could shift from natural gas and oil for heating their buildings to renewables like geothermy and the likes
Keep up the good work ! 🙂
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