World Energy Consumption

Credit: BP 2007 Review of World Energy

World primary energy consumption increased by 2.4% in 2006, down from 3.2% in 2005 and just above the 10-year average. Growth slowed for every fuel except nuclear power. The Asia Pacific region once again recorded the most rapid growth, rising by 4.9%, while consumption in North America fell by 0.5%. Chinese energy consumption rose by 8.4% and China continued to account for the majority of global energy consumption growth.

source: US Department of Energy

Energy Consumption

World energy consumption is projected to rise by 59 percent between 1999 and 2020, reaching 607 quadrillion British thermal units (BTUS).

source: US Department of Energy

 Developing Asia and Central and South America are expected to have the most rapid growth rates in energy demand over the next two decades. In both regions, total energy demand is expected to grow by about 4 percent per year between 1999 and 2020. 

source: US Department of Energy

Oil is expected to remain the dominant energy fuel as it has been for decades. In the industrialized world, increases in oil use are projected primarily in the transportation sector, where there are currently no available fuels to compete with oil products.

source: US Department of Energy

Natural gas is projected to be the fastest growing primary energy source worldwide, maintaining growth of 3.2 percent annually over the 1999-2020 period, more than twice as high as the rate for coal. Natural gas consumption is projected to rise from 84 trillion cubic feet in 1999 to 162 trillion cubic feet in 2020, primarily for electricity generation. Gas is increasingly seen as the desired alternative for electric power, given the efficiency of combined-cycle gas turbines relative to coal- or oil-fired generation, and because it burns more cleanly than either coal or oil, making it a more attractive choice for countries interested in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Coal use worldwide is projected to increase by 1.7 billion short tons (36 percent) between 1999 and 2020. Substantial declines in coal use are projected for Western Europe and the EE/FSU countries where natural gas is increasingly being used to replace coal, to fuel new growth in electric power generation, and for other industrial and building sector uses . In the developing world, however, even larger increases in coal use are expected. The largest increases are projected for China and India, where coal supplies are plentiful. Together these two countries account for more than 90 percent of the projected rise in coal use in the developing world over.

Carbon dioxide emissions are expected to rise to 7.8 billion metric tons carbon equivalent in 2010 and to 9.8 billion metric tons by 2020  Much of the increase is expected in the developing countries, where emerging economies are expected to produce the largest increases in energy consumption, and carbon dioxide emissions are projected to grow by an average of 3.7 percent per year between 1999 and 2020.

source: US Department of Energy

 Developing countries alone account for 81 percent of the projected increment in world carbon emissions between 1990 and 2010 and 76 percent between 1990 and 2020.

Oil consumption is projected to account for the largest increment in worldwide carbon dioxide emissions. In 2020, emissions related to oil use are projected to be 1.9 billion metric tons carbon equivalent higher than the 1990 level. Emissions from natural gas use are expected to be 1.4 billion metric tons above 1990 levels in 2020 and emissions from coal use 0.7 billion metric tons above 1990 levels. Although natural gas use is expected to increase at a faster rate than oil use, it is a less carbon-intensive fuel.

source: US Department of Energy, BP 2007 Review of World Energy