Impossible to give up oil and other fossil energies: the report proves it

According to the report "World Energy Outlook 2019" edited by the International Energy Agency (International Energy Agency, or IEA), theincrease in energy demand worldwide it cannot be supported solely by the increased production of renewable energies unless a global political turnaround occurs. An event, says the Paris-based agency, which seems far from being realized, at least for the moment.

The greenhouse gas emissions caused by the production of energy from fossil sources, in fact, they reached a new high in 2018 and, given the trend of the first ten months of the current year, it cannot be ruled out that it will be beaten again. The extraction and production of oil, in fact, continues to grow at a rapid pace: a trend that will continue at least throughout the next decade, says the IEA, with the United States to play the part of the master. In fact, the North American state will be responsible for 85% of the increase in oil and natural gas production, soon becoming a net exporter of hydrocarbons.

At present, therefore, the growth of renewable energy production is not yet sufficient to cause one "Copernican revolution" in the energy sector, but hope is always the last to die. If the governments of the major nations of the world wanted, in fact, it would be possible to reverse the trend: strong investments are needed both in development of more efficient renewable technologies both for the creation of new "renewable parks", which can make up for a possible decline in production from non-renewable and polluting sources.

According to the Agency, the demand for energy is destined to grow by 1% per year until 2040 and about 50% of the "energy surplus" will be covered by renewable sources, with solar energy playing the part of the master. The low production costs of new plants, in fact, will ensure that the energy produced by solar panels will grow steadily and decisively, stealing slices of the coal market. By 2040, according to the Parisian Agency, the Sun will be the main source of energy worldwide, while wind energy will grow 15 times compared to current volumes.

Despite these advances, however, oil will continue to represent one of the main energy sources that humanity will continue to rely on for years to come. Rather, according to the IEA, oil production is set to grow over the next few years, supported by the widespread use of heat engine vehicles in developing countries. Only the spread of electric vehicles will curb this trend, but the first results in terms of extraction and hydrocarbon production will only be seen from 2030 onwards, when the demand for oil is destined to stabilize.