Climate deal to prevent doubling of energy bills

A climate change deal is needed not just to ward off global warming, but to ensure a shift from increasingly costly fossil fuels that could lead to a doubling of energy bills, the IEA's chief economist said on Tuesday.

In the absence of an agreement, the ratio of energy spending to Gross Domestic Product for the largest consumer countries would double by 2030, Fatih Birol, author of the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook (WEO) told Reuters in an interview.

"The world needs to go to the 450 part per million (ppm) target, not only because of climate change but because of growing problems within our energy system and its possible implications again on the economy," Birol said.

Oil prices soared to a record of nearly $150 a barrel in July last year.

They then collapsed to less than $33 last December, but have since recovered to around $80. Birol said the fall in gas demand had bottomed out and he expected consumption to begin rising at the end of this year or the beginning of 2010 as the economy rebounds.

At the same time, the IEA predicts gas output will halve to 1.5 trillion cubic meter (tcm) by 2030.

Click here for Reuters article

 

Photo: serge melki/flickr