'Rebalancing global economy means more energy to developing economies'

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LONDON, Sept 17 (Xinhua): A profound rebalancing of the global economy requires increasing levels of energy and amounts of raw materials for developing countries, Pierre Gadnonneix, head of World Energy Council said here yesterday.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the two-day FT-WEC Energy Leaders Summit, the WEC chairman said: "The IMF estimates that by 2012, developing countries will be producing more than 50 per cent of global growth, which requires increasing levels of energy and amounts of raw materials for developing countries to support their growth."
This shift is so rapid that it has created lasting tensions on energy prices because capacity has not kept up with demand, the WEC chief said.
Each day there are 200,000 more people on the earth, and these people want to live a better life than their parents, which helps make energy demands to increase by up to 50 per cent between now and 2030, Gadnonneix said.
Higher prices have placed the least developed countries and people with the lowest income in a strange hold, he said, adding that rising energy prices are increasing inequality globally and locally, drawing sharp lines between those who do have access to energy and those who do not.
Though quantities are not limitless, Gadnonneix said, we can push back the limits through appropriate use of technological advances.
Part of the solution for curbing demand will come from more efficient engines for transportation, better insulation in construction and more broadly, the development of new architectural design, the energy-saving lighting, heat pumps and solar water heaters, he said.
Hydro, nuclear and wind power allow us to generate electricity at a competitive cost with no carbon emission, while high-efficiency coal and combined cycle gas turbines can reduce emissions from fossil-fuel generation, the WEC chief said.
Energy-related greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 25 per cent since 1990, Gadnonneix said, adding that to keep the limit global warming to a rise of 2 degrees Celsius, the world needs to keep the concentration of greenhouse gases at current levels.
By "smart investments," a long-term capital expenditure and investment in R&D, Gadnonneix said, the world should try hard to curb the ever-growing demand for energy and promote energy efficiency, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.