U.N. Study Sees No Shortage of Fossil Fuels

As climbing oil prices create political crises in Europe and drain pocketbooks in California, a U.N. study released Wednesday declares that there is no shortage of fossil fuels, but that time to revamp the energy delivery system and avoid real emergencies is in short supply.

An unusual collaboration of major energy suppliers and U.N. agencies in a two-year study concludes that oil, like food, is plentiful but that access to it is highly unbalanced around the world. About 2 billion people don’t have enough energy resources to meet their basic needs, according to the 500-page report.

If patterns of energy production and use don’t start to change, the report says, the widening gap will cause much greater political instability and environmental damage.

“What we are witnessing is a preview for 20 years down the road,” said Jose Goldemberg, chairman of the World Energy Assessment. “Although there are reserves and a fair amount of energy around the world, it takes time to change the energy system. Today’s turmoil should accelerate the search for new solutions.”

The study of world energy systems is significant because it brings together groups that usually sit on opposite sides of the table. The World Energy Council, which represents the industry, worked with the U.N. Development Program and the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, advocates for poorer societies that get a relatively smaller share of energy resources. The council took a new step in advocating renewable fuel sources, conservation and new fuel technologies rather than relying on scientific breakthroughs to help produce more energy.

“Why would the WEC get into bed” with the U.N., asked Gerald Doucet, the industry group’s secretary-general. “The fact that one-third of the world’s population doesn’t have energy right now highlights aspects of the unsustainability of the system right now.”

Participating in the assessment helped suppliers understand how to deliver energy more widely and efficiently and could translate into business opportunities in the decades ahead, said Thomas Johansson, director of the U.N. Development Program’s energy division. The U.N. gets the industry’s backing for development and conservation programs, he said.

The World Energy Assessment urges governments’ support for new policies to deliver energy more equitably and efficiently. It recommends the use of renewable fuel sources, greater conservation and the development of new technologies to reduce pollution from fossil fuels, which the report notes account for 77% of the energy people consume.

Though the study began two years ago, the authors used recent events to add drama to their conclusions. Oil prices hit a 10-year high Wednesday, prompting European leaders to call for a meeting with oil producers. Demonstrators in Britain, France, Germany and other European nations have blocked highways and oil facilities in recent weeks to protest high prices and taxes. And concerns are mounting that rising energy prices could dampen the strong U.S. economy--and even affect the November presidential election.

“If northern, rich, powerful consumers are mad as hell about oil prices right now, it’s nothing compared to developing countries whose voices we can’t hear,” said Mark Malloch Brown, head of the U.N. Development Program.

If political leaders could harness that will to change their energy policies, they could avoid even greater crises in the future, said Doucet of the World Energy Council.