Energy demand growth will continuously rise for the Asian region over the 20-year planning horizon at over 3.0 percent rate, propelled mainly by both economic expansion and population explosion.

In an Energy Outlook presentation made by ExxonMobil public affairs advisor Jonathan Law, he expounded on the linkage of population growth, economic progress and the type and volume of energy that the world is presently utilizing and what is in store onward to year 2030.

He noted that Asia “will definitely be a growth region” in terms of energy demand, as he stressed that there would be some form of deceleration in more developed countries or regions, such as the United States and Europe.

In this era when debates are raging on climate change risks, he noted that one interesting aspect to be examined is how Asia would be dealing with its carbon emissions, given that these are inherently linked to higher usage of energy.

China’s energy demand, in particular, is seen growing at a very rapid rate – roughly about 10 times the rate of growth projected for the United States. And by 2030, this Asia’s giant economy will soak up nearly 10 percent of the world’s energy demand.

Unfortunately, according to forecasts, the world’s energy demand for the next 20 years will still depend largely on fossil fuels – apparently sustaining the dominance of coal and oil in the energy mix, and Asia will not be an exception to that pattern.

Natural gas will continue to have its place in the mix, but it was emphasized that bringing the product to market will be going through some landscape changes.

On the upstream segment, Law noted that unconventional sources will corner greater share in future supply; while on the product transmission and distribution segments, heftier investments are needed, primarily for pipelines.

Nevertheless, Law emphasized that the share of alternatives such as biofuels and renewable energy (RE) will be expanding at a relatively fast rate of 12 percent over the medium term.

“Renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and biofuels will be growing very rapidly,” he stressed.

If referenced on the overall energy mix though, Law acknowledged that the share of such much-touted cleaner energy alternatives will remain marginal as compared to fossil fuels.

As far as concerns on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are concerned, the way of the future he said will hinge largely on the advancement of technology and in employing energy efficiency initiatives from the energy production side to actual energy usage (demand-side management).

His propounded solution to curbing or easing toxic emissions from energy facilities would be through a carbon tax, but Law acknowledged such is a heavily-debatable precept both in the policy-making domain and even from the consumers’ end.