Global energy demand will nearly double in the next 20 years, without savings enabled by efficiency gain, according to the PwC study Transforming the energy, utilities and resources

"The energy sector is in the middle of a massive transformation. Global demand is accelerating, and by 2040 it will be four times higher than it was 30 years ago. The combined pressure of increasing demand and the concern about climate change will have an impact on each industry within the energy, utilities and resources sectors”, says David Trow, Partner and Energy Services Leader, PwC Romania.

At present, global energy consumption is rising much faster than the population. Thus, if five decades ago, at a population of 3.7 billion people, energy consumption was 5 billion tons of oil equivalent, by 2020, it will quadruple, reaching 19 billion tons of oil equivalent. During the same period, the population doubled. By 2040, there will be 9 billion people on the planet, and consumption will be more than 6 times higher (32 billion tons) than 50 years ago.

"The implementation of solutions for increasing energy efficiency could bring significant savings so that global energy demand might only increase by 25% over the next 20 years, instead of doubling. Fortunately, thanks to technologies based on artificial intelligence, data analysis, the possibility to store surplus energy, renewable resources and others, companies now have many more tools and opportunities to successfully increase energy efficiency in their businesses”, explains Andreea Mitiriță, Partner PwC Romania.

The main findings of the report:

• Much of the growth in energy demand comes from India and China.
• Renewables are the fastest growing energy source.
• The use of natural gas will grow much faster than that of oil or coal.
• The growth of the population and the demand for energy put pressure on the discovery of new deposits of resources, and implicitly on the investment budgets of the producers.
• The shareholders of energy, utilities and resources companies increasingly insist that the energy and products they supply be cleaner, with a low carbon footprint.
• New technologies and renewable energy resources support companies' plans to make consumption more efficient.
• The advancement of technologies to produce renewable energy and the possibility of storage allow people and communities to produce, use and sell their own energy.

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