1.2 Increasing Energy Demand
The energy needs of most of the advanced economies in the Western world are increasing at a modest level. However, in some developing economies, where the economy is booming, energy demands are increasing dramatically, e.g., in India. The figure below shows the latest gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of the countries of the world in 2024. While advanced economies had a 1.7% annual percent change in real GDP growth, emerging and developing Asia had a 5.2% annual percent change in real GDP growth with India having a 6.8% annual percent change in real GDP growth. The global primary energy consumption was 183,230 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2023. Currently, global energy consumption is growing at around 1-2% per year. However, if many third-world countries were to dramatically increase their standard of living, there are estimates that worldwide energy consumption would double. But where would that energy come from, particularly since there aren't huge stockpiles of crude oil sitting around? Petroleum cannot supply it all, and neither can natural gas or coal.
