8 September 2008: In his address to the “Asia-Pacific Security Challenges: Implications for Europe and the Atlantic Alliance” Conference, held in Prague, Czech Republic, from 7-9 September 2008, Nobuo Tanaka, International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director, focused on the energy implications of the rise of Asian economies and the need for a global energy revolution.

He recalled that the effects of climate change are already being felt, stressed that the continuance of the current unsustainable trends would lead to a six degree rise in temperature, and called for a global response to climate change involving both developed and developing countries. He said the threats of energy security and climate change should “go hand-in-hand as the co-benefits are enormous.” To address these threats, he called on: producers to increase investment; consumers to drive demand for energy efficiency; consumers and producers to dialogue; and all countries to diversify their energy sources and reduce their carbon-intensity. He stressed the role of technology, including carbon capture and storage (CCS) and super-efficient coal-fired power generation.
Tanaka said a global energy revolution is required to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by 50% by 2050, with investments of US$45 trillion in the energy sector. He outlined IEA’s efforts to improve relationships between producer and consumer countries as well as IEA members, highlighting the relationship between China and India, as well as the ties between the IEA and ten ASEAN countries. He concluded by underlining the need for the IEA to evolve and not only address the supply side, but the demand side too, including energy efficiency measures. [The statement]