WASHINGTON, July 26 – World energy consumption is projected to increase by 56 percent through 2040 over the next 10 years driven by growth in the developing world, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.
In its International Energy Outlook 2013 report, EIA said world energy use may increase from 534 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) in 2010 to 820 quadrillion Btu in 2040.
“Rising prosperity in China and India is a major factor in the outlook for global energy demand,” Xinhua news agency quoted EIA administrator Adam Sieminski as saying.
“These two countries combined account for half the world’s total increase in energy use through 2040.”
The report also found energy use in countries outside the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will increase by 90 percent, while in OECD countries the increase is merely 17 percent.
On energy production, the report described renewable energy and nuclear power as the world’s fastest-growing energy sources with each increasing by 2.5 percent annually, but fossil fuels will continue to supply 80 percent of world energy use through 2040.
Natural gas will be the fastest growing fossil fuel in the outlook, with the U.S. and Russia accounting for nearly one-third of the total increase in world gas production.
– BERNAMA
