Exclusive
Meeting Global Energy Challenges - A Chevron Eurasia Perspective
Scott E. Davis, Managing Director Eurasia Strategic Business Unit, Chevron
nges - A Chevron Eurasia Perspective" width="250" />
From independence to this very day Chevron is very proud to have witnessed the growing role of Kazakhstan on the world stage. Indeed, these past 20 years have been exciting times for Kazakhstan, our company and our industry and it’s been a tremendous and rewarding experience to contribute to the country’s nation building and to lead one of the most significant and successful partnerships in the region.
In regard to the 21st Century there can be little doubt that the challenges we face globally require the very best of our collective knowledge and innovative thinking to address them. Meeting our energy needs while protecting our environment is one of the most important of these challenges. Although we have seen a flattening in global energy demand as a result of the economic downturn which began in 2008, over the long term it is inevitable that global energy demand will increase as the economy recovers.
Global economic growth is still driven by the same fundamental forces – rising population, technological advances and relentless human aspiration for a better standard of living. That will continue and in this context one of the pillars for restoring global economic growth is energy. Follow the supply chain of economic growth in any region and without exception energy sustains every individual household and is the backbone of every local economy! Consider this according to the International Energy Agency global energy demand is projected to rise roughly 40% by 2035 driven by population growth and rising living standards.
And while our company supports the development of alternative sources of energy, it’s a fact that fossil fuels oil, natural gas and coal will still account for 65 percent of global energy supply in 2035 even under the most aggressive clean energy policy scenarios. In order to get grounded in fact and I apologize for being US centric but there is no getting away from the fact the US is by far the largest energy consumer consider this, If the United States can continue to install solar power at a sustained growth rate of 12% per year for the next two decades, by 2030 solar power will only contribute 0.1% of the energy needs of the United States.
If the United States decided tomorrow that all new vehicles sold must be electric powered it would still take until around the year 2030 to replace the vehicle fleet and become 100% electric powered. Where the electric power comes from is another question which needs to be answered.