Environment News Service: Irreplacable Climate Change

Unless there is a bold change in policy direction, the world will lock itself into an insecure, inefficient and high-carbon energy system, the International Energy Agency warned at the launch of its 2011 World Energy Outlook today in London. The report says there is still time to act, but despite steps in the right direction, the door of opportunity is closing. The agency's warning comes at a critical time in international climate change negotiations, as governments prepare for the annual UN climate summit in Durban, South Africa, from November 28. "If we do not have an international agreement whose effect is put in place by 2017, then the door will be closed forever," IEA Chief Economist Faith Birol warned today. "Growth, prosperity and rising population will inevitably push up energy needs over the coming decades, but we cannot continue to rely on insecure and environmentally unsustainable uses of energy," said IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven. "Governments need to introduce stronger measures to drive investment into efficient and low-carbon technologies," she said. "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," van der Hoeven said. Some key trends are pointing in worrying directions, the agency told reporters today.