Report: $45 trillion needed to cut CO2

TOKYO, June 6 (UPI) -- The head of the International Energy Agency, speaking Friday in Tokyo, said it will take $45 trillion to reduce world carbon dioxide levels 50 percent by 2050.

"The world faces the daunting combination of surging energy demand, rising greenhouse gas emissions and tightening resources. A global energy technology revolution is both necessary and achievable; but it will be a tough challenge," Nobuo Tanaka said at the release of the agency's biennial publication Energy Technology Perspectives.

The report said if governments continue with current policies, CO2 emissions will rise by 130 percent and oil demand will rise by 70 percent by 2050.

"There should be no doubt -- meeting the target of a 50 percent cut in emissions represents a formidable challenge," Tanaka said. "We would require immediate policy action and technological transition on an unprecedented scale. It will essentially require a new global energy revolution which would completely transform the way we produce and use energy."