IEA calls for focus on energy policies

LONDON, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- The head of the International Energy Agency said in London Wednesday that economic downturns should not derail energy policy goals.

"We cannot let the financial and economic crisis delay the policy action that is urgently needed to ensure secure energy supplies and to curtail rising emissions of greenhouse gases," IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka said.

"We must usher in a global energy revolution by improving energy efficiency and increasing the deployment of low-carbon energy," Tanaka said.

Tanaka made the remarks while launching the latest edition of the World Energy Outlook, 2008, IEA said in a statement.

In the annual report, with no change in government policies, IEA estimates energy demand will grow 1.6 percent a year from 2006 through 2008 -- a total increase of 45 percent.

The estimate is slightly lower than last year's projection due to the economic downturn, IEA said.

Estimates include a demand for oil rising from 85 million barrels a day to 106 million, the report said.

Rising demand for coal, however, will account for over one-third of the increase in energy consumption by 2030, the report said.