Posted on 24-11-2003
Exxon:
CO2 Output Rise 50 Percent By 2020
From Reuters, 20 November 2003
HOUSTON, Texas - Worldwide annual emissions of carbon
dioxide, considered a culprit in global warming, are expected
to increase by 3.5 billion tons, or 50 percent, by the year
2020, an executive for ExxonMobil Corp said.
At the same time, global demand for energy will rise
by 40 percent as the world population increases and economies
grow, said Randy Broiles, global planning manager for Exxon's
oil and gas production unit.
"Between now and 2020 we estimate increases of some
3.5 billion tons per year of additional carbon emissions, so
it's definitely increasing," Broiles said Wednesday at
an energy conference sponsored by accounting and consulting
firm Deloitte.
He said about 7 billion tons of carbon dioxide, which
is a byproduct of burning fossil fuels, go into the earth's
atmosphere each year from power plants, cars and other sources.
Experts say the United States, which has the world's
largest economy and 4 percent of its population, is responsible
for about 25 percent of so-called "greenhouse" gases
now produced, but Broiles said most future growth in output
will come from developing countries.
"Eighty percent of that number, 80 percent of 3.5
billion tons, is going to be driven by those developing countries,
those economies that are growing at the 4 to 5 percent range,
so that's where it's coming from," he said.
A huge increase in the number of cars will cause part
of the pollution growth.
Broiles said there are now 15 cars for every 1,000 people
in the world, but ExxonMobil expects that number to rise to
50 cars per 1,000 by 2020.
He said ExxonMobil foresees a 40 percent increase in
energy demand even though humans are boosting their energy efficiency
by about 1 percent a year. Despite advances in technology most
energy will still come from fossil fuels, and in particular
oil and gas, of which there remain very large reserves, he said.
"The oil resource base is huge -- it's huge -- and
we expect it to satisfy world demand growth well beyond 2020,"
he said.
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