World energy consumption to grow 56% by 2040, mostly from fossil fuels

Federal report: World energy consumption to grow 56 percent by 2040

By Ben Geman - 07/25/13 The Hill

Global energy consumption will increase 56 percent between 2010 and 2040, and fossil fuels will keep providing the lion’s share of supply even as green energy sources quickly expand.

Those are some of the conclusions in federal Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) big new “International Energy Outlook,” which examines estimated supply, consumption and emissions trends over the next three decades.

China and India will together account for half the increase in global energy use, according to the EIA, which is the Energy Department’s independent statistical arm, and more broadly, the developing world will largely drive vast bulk of the increase.

Natural gas, oil and coal will remain the primary energy sources, even as renewables like wind and solar are expanding.

“Renewable energy and nuclear power are the world's fastest-growing energy sources, each increasing by 2.5 percent per year. However, fossil fuels continue to supply almost 80 percent of world energy use through 2040. Natural gas is the fastest-growing fossil fuel in the outlook,” the report states.

Greenhouse gas emissions will keep rising globally, increasing by nearly 50 percent, a level that scientists warn will lead to dangerous climactic changes.

“Given current policies and regulations limiting fossil fuel use, worldwide energy-related carbon dioxide emissions rise from about 31 billion metric tons in 2010 to 36 billion metric tons in 2020 and then to 45 billion metric tons in 2040, a 46-percent increase,” the report states.

From the Report:

"Coal use grows faster than petroleum and other liquid fuel use until after 2030, mostly because of increases in China's consumption of coal and tepid growth in liquids demand attributed to slow growth in the OECD regions and high sustained oil prices."