How will the Geosciences contribute to achieving a Sustainable Energy supply in the 21st century and beyond?
By the above definitions, many sources forecast that the primary energy reserves on which we rely will be exhausted by around 2050, as demand is projected to increase and renewable energy resources do not yet meet a major percentage of the global energy demand (figure 1). More specifically, oil production is expected to peak for non-OPEC countries between 2015 and 2020 and for OPEC countries between 2020 and 2035. At current consumption, the use of natural gas is likely to peak between 2050 and 2060 (Ahlbrandt, 2002). Therefore, it is likely that there will be a significant shortfall between energy supply and energy demand in the period 2036-2040. Furthermore, it is imperative that this generation starts to use global resources more responsibly and in a sustainable fashion, so that future generations are able to survive on this planet. On first glance, the figures above suggest an intractable problem. Neither coal nor hydrocarbons can be replenished on the necessary timescales, so the
