Posted on by John Sloman

Powering growth

BP has just published its latest projection of energy trends – its Energy Outlook 2030. According to the press release:

World energy growth over the next twenty years is expected to be dominated by emerging economies such as China, India, Russia and Brazil while improvements in energy efficiency measures are set to accelerate.

The following podcast from the Financial Times features a discussion of the report and the factors affecting oil prices and their relationship to economic growth

Webcast
Emerging economies seen driving energy demand Financial Times videos, John Authers and Vincent Boland (19/1/11)

Articles
Energy outlook Financial Times, Lex column (19/1/11)
BP energy outlook: main points The Telegraph (20/1/11)
High energy prices need not mean doom Sydney Morning Herald, Jeremy Warner (21/1/11)

Report
BP Energy Outlook 2030 (January 2011)

Data
Power slide The Economist: Daily Chart (19/1/11)

Questions

  1. What are the most powerful driving forces behind the demand for energy?
  2. Why does the report forecast virtually no increase in energy demand in developed countries? What assumptions are made about growth rates in OECD and non-OECD countries?
  3. What factors would lead to a substitution of sustainable energy sources for fossil fuels? What would detrmine the size of such substitution?
  4. What is the role of the price elasticity of demand for and supply of oil and the income elasticity of demand for oil in determining oil consumption in different parts of the world?
  5. Why may high energy prices not necessarily mean ‘doom’?