Do we have to change our habits?
It is generally predicted that the world energy demand will further increase to reach 45% by 2030. It should be noted however that the economic recession due to the financial crisis has led the energy demand to progress slower than expected.
Fossil fuels will represent 80% of the world demand of primary energies in 2030. Oil remains the dominating fuel. The world primary oil demand outside biofuels is increasing at an average annual rate of 1%, from 85 million barrels per day in 2007 to an expected 106 million barrels per day in 2030. The share of oil in world energy consumption has however fallen from 34% to 30%, which means that the projections regarding black gold have been reviewed to a lower level.
Global urban energy consumption which, according to some analysts, reached 7,900 Million tons of oil equivalent in 2006, which represents the two thirds of total current energy consumption and will reach the three fourths of that proportion by 2030.
The Atom: a clean and quality energy?
Nuclear industry is subject to contention although its advantages, including the power it generates, the competitive cost of produced electricity and the capacity to generate power without greenhouse gas rejection, are recognized worldwide. Nevertheless, radioactive waste management remains the main drawback of the nuclear industry.
439 reactors scattered in about thirty countries, including 15 OECD member countries are in operation worldwide. 42 reactors are under development and 5 are in the process of being dismantled.
Europe which produces 35% of its electricity from nuclear plants has therefore prevented carbon dioxide emissions of a quantity equal to that produced by the European automobile fleet (about 200 million vehicles).