Energy security threatened

The International Energy Agency called on world leaders to take decisive action to stem future energy demand in its latest World Energy Outlook report released on Wednesday.

The Paris-based energy consultancy said that total energy demand is set to rise by 37 percent by 2040, and that annual investment of $900 billion (723 billion euros) in oil and gas development is needed by the 2030s to meet the projection.

The authors estimate that oil supply will increase from 90 million to 104 barrels per day over the next 25 years, but warn that a waning oil boom in the US could threaten energy security, as consumers will increasingly have to look to the conflict-ridden Middle East as the world's number one supplier.

"A well-supplied oil market in the short-term should not disguise the challenges that lie ahead, as the world is set to rely more heavily on a relatively small number of producing countries," said IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol.

The authors predict that China will overtake the United States as the world's largest oil-consuming country by 2030, as Asia is on track to make up 60 percent of total global energy use.

Rise of renewables

It's not all bad news, according the report, which predicts that renewable energies will leave coal in the dust as the leading source of electricity, accounting for nearly half of the global increase in power generation.

"The development path for a growing world population and economy is less energy-intensive than it used to be."