World Energy Outlook
Encyclopedia
The annual World Energy Outlook is the International Energy Agency
's flagship publication and it is widely recognised as the most authoritative energy
source for global energy projections and analysis. It represents the leading source for medium to long-term energy market
projections, extensive statistics
, analysis
and advice for both governments and the energy business
. It is produced by the Office of the Chief Economist, under the direction of Dr. Fatih Birol
.
Using a Reference Scenario
based on no change in current policies, it enables policy-makers to evaluate their current path. The WEO has also developed an alternative scenario
that puts the global energy systems on a trajectory to stabilise greenhouse gas emissions in line with limiting the increase in temperature to 2°C.
In even-numbered years, WEO presents detailed projections
of energy demand, production
, trade
and investment
, fuel by fuel and region by region. It also puts the spotlight on several topical issues:
The 2005 http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/2005.asp edition presents a detailed assessment of energy prospects throughout the Middle East and North Africa region and the implications of these for world energy markets;
The 2007 http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/2007.asp report presents a special focus on China and India and analyses the impact of rising energy
use in these countries on the international energy markets and energy-related greenhouse gas emissions;
The 2008 http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/2008.asp edition focuses on two pressing issues such as prospects for oil
and gas
production and the post-2012 climate scenarios
;
The 2009 http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/2009.asp edition presents in-depth analysis of three special topics: Financing energy investment
under a post-2012 climate framework; prospects for global natural gas
markets and energy trends in Southeast Asia
.
The 2010 WEO edition, released on 9 November 2010, presented for the first time in its history a scenario that takes account of the recent commitments that governments have made to tackle climate change
and worsening energy insecurity
. It also puts the spotlight on several topical issues, including the outlook for renewable energy
technologies and unconventional oil, the implications of climate policies, Caspian
energy prospects, energy poverty and energy subsidies.
The WEO received numerous awards http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/awards.asp from governments and energy industry
for its analytical excellence.
International Energy Agency
The International Energy Agency is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis...
's flagship publication and it is widely recognised as the most authoritative energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
source for global energy projections and analysis. It represents the leading source for medium to long-term energy market
Energy market
Energy markets are those commodities markets that deal specifically with the trade and supply of energy. Energy market may refer to an electricity market, but can also refer to other sources of energy...
projections, extensive statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
, analysis
Analysis
Analysis is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle , though analysis as a formal concept is a relatively recent development.The word is...
and advice for both governments and the energy business
Energy industry
The energy industry is the totality of all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution...
. It is produced by the Office of the Chief Economist, under the direction of Dr. Fatih Birol
Fatih Birol
Dr Fatih Birol is the Chief Economist of the International Energy Agency and Director, Office of The Chief Economist, with overall responsibility for the organisation's economic analysis of energy and climate change policy...
.
Using a Reference Scenario
Scenario
A scenario is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the Commedia dell'arte it was an outline of entrances, exits, and action describing the plot of a play that was literally pinned to the back of the scenery...
based on no change in current policies, it enables policy-makers to evaluate their current path. The WEO has also developed an alternative scenario
Scenario
A scenario is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the Commedia dell'arte it was an outline of entrances, exits, and action describing the plot of a play that was literally pinned to the back of the scenery...
that puts the global energy systems on a trajectory to stabilise greenhouse gas emissions in line with limiting the increase in temperature to 2°C.
In even-numbered years, WEO presents detailed projections
Forecasting
Forecasting is the process of making statements about events whose actual outcomes have not yet been observed. A commonplace example might be estimation for some variable of interest at some specified future date. Prediction is a similar, but more general term...
of energy demand, production
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
, trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
and investment
Investment
Investment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time...
, fuel by fuel and region by region. It also puts the spotlight on several topical issues:
The 2005 http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/2005.asp edition presents a detailed assessment of energy prospects throughout the Middle East and North Africa region and the implications of these for world energy markets;
The 2007 http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/2007.asp report presents a special focus on China and India and analyses the impact of rising energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
use in these countries on the international energy markets and energy-related greenhouse gas emissions;
The 2008 http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/2008.asp edition focuses on two pressing issues such as prospects for oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
and gas
Gas
Gas is one of the three classical states of matter . Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid. As heat is added to this substance it melts into a liquid at its melting point , boils into a gas at its boiling point, and if heated high enough would enter a plasma state in which the electrons...
production and the post-2012 climate scenarios
Climate change mitigation scenarios
Climate change mitigation scenarios are possible futures in which global warming is reduced by deliberate actions, such as a comprehensive switch to energy sources other than fossil fuels...
;
The 2009 http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/2009.asp edition presents in-depth analysis of three special topics: Financing energy investment
Energy development
Energy development is the effort to provide sufficient primary energy sources and secondary energy forms for supply, cost, impact on air pollution and water pollution, mitigation of climate change with renewable energy....
under a post-2012 climate framework; prospects for global natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
markets and energy trends in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
.
The 2010 WEO edition, released on 9 November 2010, presented for the first time in its history a scenario that takes account of the recent commitments that governments have made to tackle climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
and worsening energy insecurity
Energy security
Energy security is a term for an association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption. Access to cheap energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies. However, the uneven distribution of energy supplies among countries has led...
. It also puts the spotlight on several topical issues, including the outlook for renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
technologies and unconventional oil, the implications of climate policies, Caspian
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
energy prospects, energy poverty and energy subsidies.
The WEO received numerous awards http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/awards.asp from governments and energy industry
Energy industry
The energy industry is the totality of all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution...
for its analytical excellence.
External links
- The World Energy Outlook
- The International Energy Agency
- Articles on energy in the OECD Observer
- World Energy Outlook 2007: “Everything is Getting Worse” Interview with Fatih Birol, IEA Chief Economist