6 June 2011: The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released a special report titled “Are We Entering a Golden Age of Gas?” This report presents a scenario in which global use of gas rises by more than 50% from 2010 levels and accounts for more than a quarter of global energy demand by 2035.

The new report, which is part of the World Energy Outlook (WEO) 2011 series, examines the key factors that could result in a more prominent role for natural gas in the global energy mix and the implications for other fuels, energy security and climate change. The report also cautions on the climate benefits of such an expansion, noting that an increased share of gas in the global energy mix is far from enough on its own to put the world on a carbon emissions path consistent with a global temperature rise of no more than 2ºC.

The other main findings and implications of the GAS scenario are: the share of natural gas ion the global energy mix increases from 21% to 25% in 2035, pushing the share of coal into decline and overtaking it by 2030; an increase in production equivalent to about three times the current production of Russia will be required to meet the growth gas demand in 2035, which the global natural gas resources can supply; trade among the main world regions more than doubles; the different overall global energy mix in the GAS scenario results in differences in the required type and scale of energy-supply infrastructure; and the pricing of gas relative to other fuels has a strong influence on fuel choice. [IEA Press Release] [Publication: Are We Entering a Golden Age of Gas?]