WEC energy policy scenarios to 2050

At the World Energy Congress held in Sydney in September 2004, the World Energy Council (WEC) decided--in a follow-up to the scenario work Global Energy Perspectives last produced in 1998--to draw up new global energy scenarios for the period up to the year 2050. Three fundamental changes were resolved, compared with previous work. Policy scenarios were to be worked out, bottom up, based on the specific knowledge of the WEC members from the various world regions. Second, plausible basic assumptions were to be made for the scenarios to gear them to the WEC's sustainability goals of accessibility, availability, and acceptability (the three As). Finally, the scenarios were to have a sufficiently long time horizon and contain clear recommendations for political measures designed to reach the outcomes aimed--at by 2050.