Energy crisis + Global Warming ?

Progress:
The ventilation team never showed up today, so we have nothing to report :-(

Events:
In its annual World Energy Outlook released this week the IEA says that unless there is an "energy revolution," the planet will heat up by about 6°C by 2030 — about three times the rate of global warming that is considered manageable by most scientists. That, says the normally sober IEA, "would lead almost certainly to massive climatic change and irreparable damage to the planet." The agency’s chief economist Faith Birol said pre-requisites for such a energy revolution are a strong climate agreement to curtail global emissions up to 2020, and a doubling of carbon prices from current EU levels.

Even after a series of statements like these, some people are still “global warming skeptics” who claim that: “this planet’s natural temperature fluctuations lead to higher concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere – not the other way around”. Should they be correct in their view on CO2 – there is still a need to act now....

The global recession has brought the first significant yearly drop in energy demand since 1981, giving the planet a rare breather from carbon emissions. But this is a "unique" moment, the report says, whose gains will be quickly obliterated without a significant move toward alternative energies. The impending energy crisis is "far greater than many people realize," it says. (Read "Russia and China: An Old Alliance Hinges on Energy.")

Energy demand will rebound sharply once the recession ends and rise about 40% by 2030. Fossil fuels — oil, coal and gas — will make up about three-quarters of the global increase in energy consumption. One example of the recession’s effect on CO2 emissions is Japan – see article “Japan greenhouse gas emissions fell 6.2% last year”

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1937160,00.html#ixzz0WXeEw4d4

Copenhagen delay to cost $500bn a year

The International Energy Agency (IEA) warns that holding up a new global climate agreement will add $500 billion for each year of delay to the total cost of measures needed to keep global warming to plus-2 degrees Celsius.
http://www.carbonpositive.net/viewarticle.aspx?articleID=1727