Global perspectives and options for long-range energy strategies

An attempt is made to envisage the evolution of energy supply and demand for the next 50 yr. Seven identified world regions are considered in order to bring out their interrelationships and to provide a background against which national or regional energy strategies can be evaluated. The principal tool for doing this is the elaboration of two detailed and largely internally consistent scenarios. This permits us to make interpolations and extrapolations. The scenarios are only conceptualizations, not predictions. This paper addresses only the technical and substantive aspects of the energy problem and does not look into political, institutional, and societal problems. It is thus meant to serve as a basis for broader policy decision-making