Crude oil pricing will increase 88 percent by 2035, reaching $113 dollars a barrel, despite current environmental policies, according to International Energy Agency's (IEA) latest World Energy Outlook report, reports AFP.
Fossil fuels will still account for more than half the increase in total energy demand, with oil the dominant fuel, under calculations that take into account climate change pledges made under the Copenhagen Accord last year, according to AFP. China is expected to gobble up more than a third of the new demand.
The report finds that China will dominate global energy markets and be the single biggest driver behind higher oil prices and carbon emissions linked to climate change over the next 25 year, reports the New York Times.
The IEA also estimates that the failure of the Copenhagen summit will cost the world $1 billion in extra investments needed by 2030 to avoid irreparable damage to the climate, raising the total investment needed to $11.6 billion, reports AFP.
In addition, the rising demand for fossil fuels will drive up energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. IEA expects that oil, natural gas and coal will remain the primary sources of energy for the world, although renewable energy sources and conservation efforts will increase in importance, reports The New York Times.
IEA says renewable energy can play a key role in reducing carbon-dioxide emissions and diversifying energy supplies but there needs to be strong government support.
The report also finds that current commitments to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions are inadequate to meet the Copenhagen Accord's overall goal of holding the global temperature increase to below 2 degrees C.
IEA also said that the commitment made last year by the Group of 20 industrialized and emerging market countries to phase out fossil fuel subsidies "has the potential to, at least partly, balance the disappointment at Copenhagen," and "could make a big contribution to meeting energy-security and environmental goals, including mitigating carbon dioxide and other emissions," reports AFP.
