Last week, the 2010 edition of the World Energy Outlook (WEO 2010) was released by the IES’s WEO flagship publication. The purpose of the annual report is to supply readers with the latest information and projections in regards to energy demand and supply projections for the current year and over the next two decades. The report supplies a variety of different future scenarios, with each option broken down by country, fuel, and sector, along with analyses of “the most pressing issues faced by the energy world this year.” Special consideration is also given to Russia’s energy prospects—and “their implications for global markets,” the role of coal in this “emissions constrained world,” fossil fuel subsidies in support of renewable energy, an analysis of the reduction in nuclear power usage, and the impact current events in the Middle East and North Africa could have on oil and gas supplies.
With an eye on planning and prognostication, the 2010 World Energy Outlook also provides “updated projections of energy demand, production, trade, and investment, fuel by fuel and region by region to 2035.” In addition, for the first time, the report includes a new future scenario that “anticipates future actions by governments to meet commitments they have made to tackle climate change and growing energy insecurity.” WEO 2010 also spends some times discussing a variety of topical issues. Including:
- the post-Copenhagen limit on the global temperature increase to 2°C (and how these limits may impact oil markets)
- the impact of emerging economies—led by China and India—on the global energy landscape
- the costs and benefits of increasing renewable energy the outlook for Caspian energy markets and their implications for global energy supply
- the future role for unconventional oil
- the “crucial importance of energy in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals”
In a November 9 statement, Nobuo Tanaka, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, summed up the significance of the report’s findings. “The energy world is facing unprecedented uncertainty,” said Tanaka.
The strength of the economic recovery holds the key to how energy markets will evolve over the next few years. But WEO-2010 demonstrates that it is what governments do and how that action affects technology, the price of energy services, and end-user behavior that will shape the future of energy in the longer term. “We need to use energy more efficiently, and we need to wean ourselves off fossil fuels by adopting technologies that leave a much smaller carbon footprint,” continued Tanaka.
You can learn more about WEO 2010 here, including press releases, fact sheets, and video presentations.
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