IEA foresees $45 trillion in spending to reduce carbon dioxide emissions

07 Jun 2008

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Investments to the tune $45 trillion would be required for reducing global carbon dioxide emissions by 50 per cent by the year 2030, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a study. 

An IEA study finds that global temperatures could rise by six degrees centigrade by 2100, which will spell dramatic implications for all of the world's nations. 

The IEA says that the challenge for all countries is to put in motion a transition to a more secure, lower-carbon energy supply and demand, without undermining economic growth. "An energy technology revolution is needed to set us on a more sustainable energy path,'' it said.

Environment ministers from the Group of 8 industrialised nations (G8) have backed the 50 per cent goal, with a call that governments should endorse it at the next G8 summit in July.

Addressing the supply side of the equation, the IEA says countermeasures that address the problem of greenhouse gas emissions include nuclear power plants, onshore and offshore wind, solar energy and advanced technologies for coal gasification. The agency also stressed investments in efficiency to curb demand, such as energy sipping appliances and heat pumps, solar space and water heating, electric and plug-in vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cell cars.

The IEA says that all energy technologies must contribute, and that presently there is no single technology solution that can lead to a sustainable energy future. 

The agency's executive director Nobuo Tanaka called for ''immediate policy action and technological transition on an unprecedented scale,'' saying that the world would ''essentially require a new global energy revolution which would completely transform the way we produce and use energy.''

Tanaka's message is that current policies are unsustainable, and will push carbon dioxide emissions by 130 per cent, and drive the demand for oil by 70 per cent by 2050. Tanaka warned that the demand for oil could be five times the current production of Saudi Arabia by 2050. Moreover, higher oil prices are driving a switch to coal, particularly in India and China, as it is cheap and in plenty, but its increased use accelerates the growth in emissions of carbon dioxide.

IEA's report is a strong warning to the world that the combination of growing demand for energy in the world lead by countries such as China and India, and the dangers of climate change coupled with scarce resources are going to need mammoth shifts in the global economy.

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