The International Energy Agency said in its latest World Energy Outlook, released Wednesday, that a "remarkable" 5 percent jump in global primary energy demand last year pushed greenhouse gas emissions to a new high due to the rebound of the world's economies following the 2008 financial crisis.
And that, it said, bodes ill for efforts to reach a long-term target of limiting the global average temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels - especially with moves by governments to shift resources away from developing clean energy technologies as more economic problems arise.
"Without further action by 2017, the energy-related infrastructure then in place would generate all the CO2 emissions allowed" to keep the temperature rise at 2 degrees or lower, the report said.
"Governments need to introduce stronger measures to drive investment in efficient and low-carbon technologies," Maria van der Hoeven, IEA executive director, said in a statement accompanying the report.
"The Fukushima nuclear accident, the turmoil in parts of the Middle East and North Africa and a sharp rebound in energy demand in 2010 which pushed CO2 emissions to a record high, highlight the urgency and the scale of the challenge," she warned. Read the full report here.
Source: UPI.Com, London.
