Asia consumes half of global energy by 2050
A report released at its
triennial congress built the two energy scenarios - "Jazz" and
"Symphony" - for the world over the next four decades.
Under the
Jazz scenario, which envisages a market-led energy policy focused on
energy access, affordability and quality of supply, total primary energy
supply could increase by 61 percent by 2050.
The government-led
Symphony scenario -- focused on environmental sustainability and energy
security -- envisages an increase of 27 percent.
While both scenarios see a significant increase in energy access, the rate of that increase will remain insufficient.
Globally,
between 730 million and 880 million people will still be without access
to electricity in 2030, predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa. The
figures would only decrease to 319 million and 530 million by 2050, the
report said.
The WEC report put required investment in
electricity generation alone at between 19 trillion USD and 25 trillion
USD to meet demands in 2050.
While renewable energy is projected
to increase rapidly, fossil fuels will continue to dominate the global
energy mix, largely due to transport fuel needs, it said.
The report also laid out a host of challenges posed by population growth and accelerated urbanisation.
The Congress, from October 14-17, drew over 5,000 participants from 93 countries to discuss major challenges for the sector.-VNA