China will account for more than 20% of global energy demand by 2035, according to a new report released by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Financial Times reported. The IEA’s annual World Energy Outlook forecasts that China’s energy demand will increase by 75% between 2008 and 2035 as global demand reaches 16.74 billion metric tons of oil equivalent by that year. Most of the increase in Chinese demand will come from the transportation sector, according to Fatih Birol, the IEA’s chief economist. The IEA said oil supply would near a peak by 2035, pushing up oil prices to US$113 a barrel in 2009 dollars, or US$204 a barrel in nominal terms. However, the current global oversupply of gas could last another decade, potentially delaying development of alternative sources of energy.
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