Given the drama and emotion of so much of the recent debate around energy issues, an objective analysis of what is happening and what is likely to happen in the next few decades is very welcome. The latest long-term international outlook comes from the US Energy Information Administration — an independent agency — published at the end of September.
This is a sobering analysis and should be read as a serious warning.
The EIA report paints a picture of the world to 2050, on the basis of current policy, reasonable expectations of economic and population growth across the world and limited incremental gains in technology. It does not provide a forecast but rather a projection of how the world is likely to look in 30 years.