As China and India's energy consumption grows, coal stands to make the largest
gains from shifts in future fossil fuel usage, the International Energy Agency
(IEA) said Wednesday in its World Energy Outlook (WEO).

The outlook focuses on the need to offset and accommodate the growing energy
consumption of these growing economies. The IEA outlines several models for
growth in China and India, highlighting the consequences that development in
these countries will have in terms of energy demand, the global economy, and
the environment.

The WEO says that economic development fuelling increased energy needs in
these two countries is almost certain, so immediate actions should be taken to
ensure development in the most environmentally friendly terms possible.

In the IEA's baseline reference scenario, the world's primary energy needs are
projected to grow by 55% between and 2005 and 2030, with China and India
constituting 45% of this increase.

Global electricity use is predicted to double, with its share of final energy
consumption rising from 17% to 22%. Alarmingly, the IEA says that its
reference scenario projections on which the outlook's models are based, are
founded on 'conservative' assumptions about economic growth in China and
India.

The WEO therefore also examines a higher growth scenario, wherein energy
demand as much as 21% higher is possible. In any case, the IEA predicts
significant change in overall fossil fuel use by 2030, and the outlook for the
coal industry remains strong.

As oil's share of total consumption is reduced, coal stands to be the biggest
beneficiary of these changes, with demand jumping by 73% between 2005 and
2030, pushing its share of total global energy demand up from 25% to 28%.