Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The great
escape
Where we are now and where we
go next
We hear so much these days about new sources of energy - about
wave and tidal power as well as wind, about different forms of solar
energy, about making gas from garbage or oil from algae - that it is
easy to get the impression that fossil fuels or hydrocarbons are on
the way out.
But this is far from the case, as the table below shows. Attempting the
great escape from fossil fuels and converting the world to a low-carbon
energy diet is an enormous task.
Projected energy demand on present policies
Energy types in million
tonnes of oil equivalent
Compound average
annual growth 2007-30
2007
2015
2030
Coal
3184
3828
4887
1.9%
Oil
4093
4234
5009
0.9%
Gas
2512
2801
3561
1.5%
Nuclear
709
810
956
1.3%
Hydro
265
317
402
1.8%
*Biomass/waste
1176
1338
1604
1.4%
Other renewables
74
160
370
7.3%
Fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas)
as % of total energy
81.5%
80.5%
80.1%
-
* Includes traditional biomass widely used in developing countries; excluding this from
the total would make the fossil-fuel share higher still.
Source: International Energy Agency,
World Economic Outlook 2009
