Oil demand seen surging in coming decades

updated 9:17 a.m. ET Nov. 7, 2005

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Global energy needs will surge 50 percent by 2030 and prices will rise if capacity is not significantly increased, the International Energy Agency said Monday in its 2005 World Energy Outlook.

There are sufficient oil and natural gas reserves to meet those needs, particularly in North Africa and the Middle East, but about $20.3 trillion in new investments is urgently needed to bring those supplies to the consumer market, the agency said.

New energy sources will increasingly be needed to meet demand in growing economies like China and India.

Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions will also climb, by 52 percent in the same period, the Paris-based agency predicted.

"These projected trends have important implications and lead to a future that is not sustainable from an energy-security or environmental perspective," said Claude Mandil, the agency's executive director. "We must change these outcomes and get the planet onto a sustainable energy path."

The IEA, established during the oil crisis of 1973-1974, is a leading energy policy adviser for its 26 member countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, 19 European nations including Germany and Britain, and the Republic of Korea.

It coordinates measures in times of oil supply emergencies and makes policy recommendations on broader energy issues such as climate change, market reform and energy technology.

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