TechnoSanity #33: A look at the World Energy Outlook, 2009

[David Herron]

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released their yearly World Energy Outlook report for 2009. This report is used by governments and corporations worldwide for planning energy policies and purchases. This years report is very sobering on several levels.

The primary purpose of the report is to show the state of the oil, natural gas and coal industries and give recommendations. This years report makes it clear that peak oil is a reality and that drastic steps are required to counter-act the greenhouse gas climate change situation.

This years report has a strong purpose to provide data and input to the discussions at the Copenhagen summit on Climate Change which is to happen next month. The report gives really strong statements about the need to undertake big actions so we can avoid a climate catastrophe. It outlines the sort of massive investments required to do so.

There's also some controversy over this report with allegations from IEA insiders who refuse to be identified that the U.S. government put strong pressure on the IEA to present skewed results that make the picture look rosier than it really is.



The report contains strong recommendations to increase energy efficiency and to decrease the carbon intensity of everything. They strongly recommend hybrid and electric cars to decrease the carbon intensity of transportation.

I've made a pair of podcast postings about this.

TechnoSanity #32: Fudged numbers in the IEA's World Energy Outlook,...

TechnoSanity #33: A look at the World Energy Outlook, 2009