The launch of the IEA’s annual World Energy Outlook (WEO) this week was a much-watch event for the energy sector. The IEA’s reinstatement of its Current Policies Scenario (CPS) attracted the most attention, showing that the world is on course for a 12.8mn b/d increase in oil consumption by 2050 absent a change of direction. But arguably the most important takeaway is that energy security risks are on the rise due to the world’s growing dependence on China for critical minerals.
The energy transition has unleashed heated debates over the continued role of oil and gas in the global economy, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic when the BP 2020 Energy Outlook’s most conservative scenario had demand peaking at barely 100mn b/d around 2030 (MEES, 18 September 2020). This was followed by the release of the IEA’s controversial Net Zero Emissions by 2050 report in 2021. (CONTINUED - 1082 WORDS)
