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« Research Showing Carbon Emissions at all Time High – and
Accelerating

Klamath Falls: Tapping Geothermal and Setting a Big Example
»

World Oil Reserves at ‘Tipping Point’

April 8th, 2010 by EBR_EBdaily

The world’s capacity to meet projected future oil
demand is at a tipping point, according to research by the Smith School of
Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University.  There is a need to
accelerate the development of alternative energy fuel resources in order to
ensure energy security and reduce emissions, says a paper just published in the
journal Energy Policy.

The age of cheap oil has now ended as demand starts to outstrip supply as we
head towards the middle of the decade, says the report. It goes on to suggest
that the current oil reserve estimates should be downgraded from between
1150-1350 billion barrels to between 850-900 billion barrels, based on recent
research. But how can potential oil shortages be mitigated?

Dr Oliver Inderwildi, Head of the Low Carbon Mobility centre at the Smith
School, said: ‘The common belief that alternative fuels such as biofuels could
mitigate oil supply shortages and eventually replace fossil fuels is pie in the
sky. There is not sufficient land to cater for both food and fuel demand.
Instead of relying on those silver bullet solutions, we have to make better use
of the remaining resources by improving energy efficiency. Alternatives such as a
hydrogen economy and electric transportation are not mature and will only play a
major role in the medium to long term.’

Nick Owen, from the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, added:
‘Significant oil supply challenges will be compounded in the near future by
rising demand and strengthening environmental policy. Mitigating the oil crunch
without using lower grade resources such as tar sands is the key to maintaining
energy stability and a low carbon future.’

The Smith School paper also highlights that in the
past, political and financial objectives have led to misreporting of oil
reserves, which has led to contradictory estimates of oil reserve data available
in the public domain.

Sir David King, Director of the Smith School, commented: ‘We have to face up
to a future of oil uncertainty much like the global economic uncertainty we have
faced during the past two years. This challenge will have a longer term effect
on our economies unless swift action is taken by governments and business. We
all recognize that oil is a finite resource. We need to look at other low carbon
alternatives and make the necessary funding available for research, development
and deployment today if we are to mitigate the tipping point.’

The report also raises the worrying issue that additional demand for oil
could be met by non-conventional methods, such as the extraction of oil from
Canada’s tar sands. However, these methods have a far higher carbon output than
conventional drilling, and have been described as having a double impact on
emissions owing to the emissions produced during extraction as well as during
usage.

Source: Science Daily

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« Research Showing Carbon Emissions at all Time High – and
Accelerating

Klamath Falls: Tapping Geothermal and Setting a Big Example
»

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