London - The global economic downturn must not be used as an excuse to delay urgent action on tackling climate change and securing energy supplies, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned Wednesday.

The call came as the Paris-based IEA published its annual World Energy Outlook in London which predicted that, at current trends, carbon dioxide emissions would rise by
45 per cent by 2030.

Efforts to limit the resulting temperature increases to 3 degrees Celsius would require expanding the share of energy provided by low- carbon sources from 19 per cent in
2006 to 26 by 2030, the IEA said.

The IEA urged increased investment to meet the rise in global energy demand, which it predicted would increase by 45 per cent by 2030.

More than half the increase in energy demand will come from China and India, with the Middle East also emerging as a major new area demanding more power, said the report.

The IEA warned that the credit crunch could delay investment, leading to problems with supply that could prevent economic recovery.

"We cannot let the financial and economic crisis delay the policy action that is urgently needed to ensure secure energy supplies and to curtail rising emissions of greenhouse gases," said Nobuo Tanaka, executive director of the IEA.

"We must usher in a global energy revolution by improving energy efficiency and increasing the deployment of low-carbon energy," he said.

Tanaka also said that, while the oil price had currently dipped below the level of 60 dollars per barrel, it could soon be back up to 100 dollars a barrel, and possibly soar to as much as 200 dollars per barrel.

"One thing is certain. While market imbalances will feed volatility, the era of cheap oil is over," he said.

However, oil would remain the world's main source of energy for many years to come, with lack of investment, rather than a shortage of global resources, posing the greatest risk to supply, the IEA said.

The report's authors predict that massive investments in energy infrastructure will be needed, and put their estimate at 26 trillion dollars up to 2030.

A significant amount of that money - 8.4 trillion dollars - would need to be spent on oil and gas exploration and development.

The IEA estimates that current resources would be sufficient to supply the world for a further 40 years at present rates of consumption.

In one scenario considered by the IEA, China and India will account for just over half of the increase in world primary energy demand between 2006 and 2030, and much of the increase in world oil demand.

Demand for coal - one of the most polluting fuels - is expected to rise more than any other energy source, according to the World Energy Outlook.

But demand for energy produced from renewable sources would grow most rapidly, overtaking gas as the second-largest source of electricity soon after 2010, the report predicted. (dpa)