London, Nov.8 : Rapid economic growth in China and India would be the main drivers for a rise in the global demand for energy through to 2030, a top energy official has warned.
 
The BBC quoted Nobuo Tanaka, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), as saying that energy needs in 2030 could be more than 50 percent above current levels, with fossil fuels still dominant.

Tanaka, who was speaking at the launch of the IEA's World Energy Outlook report, warned that such a rise would threaten energy security and accelerate climate change.

"The emergence of new major players in global energy markets means that all countries must take vigorous, immediate and collective action to curb runaway energy demand," he warned.

"Rapid economic development will undoubtedly continue to drive up energy demand in China and India, and will contribute to a real improvement in the quality of life for more than two billion people. This is a legitimate aspiration that needs to be accommodated and supported by the rest of the world,” he said.

The World Energy Outlook 2007 report warned that much of the increased demand for energy would be met by coal.

As a result, energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions could rise by 57 percent giga-tonnes in 2005 to 42 giga-tonnes in 2030, it said.

Even in the report's "alternative policy scenario", which takes into account the governments' proposed action to save energy and cut emissions, CO2 levels are set to rise by 25 percent.

But it offered a glimmer of hope within its "450 Stabilisation" case study.

It described a notional strategy for governments to stabilise CO2 levels in the atmosphere at about 450 parts per million (ppm), which some scientists and policy makers suggest is an acceptable concentration.

This approach would see global emissions peak in 2012 then fall sharply below 2005 levels by 2030, it suggested.

Tanaka stressed the need for urgency in the battle against climate change:

"We need to act now to bring about a radical shift in investment in favour of cleaner, more efficient and more secure energy technologies,” he said. (ANI)