ABSTRACT
The world’s population may be anywhere between nine and 10 billion by the middle of this century. Almost all the increase will take place in the developing countries. Access to energy is a prerequisite for growth. It increases productivity in agriculture and industry, as well as services, thereby acting as a multiplier for human effort. It contributes to social development by improving health and education. At present there is a large inequality in per capita energy consumption between and within nations, and energy supplies are under strain due to increasing demand and the depleting resources as economies grow. The criticality of energy supplies to the world can be gauged by the space devoted to issues related to energy in daily newspapers, visual media, and popular and academic journals. Energyrelated issues are getting intertwined with politics and power1 and history tells us (Podobnik 2006) they have always been so intertwined.
