ABSTRACT
In a greenhouse warming mitigation context, the interesting demand scenarios are those which aim at reducing emissions at a lower cost than that of supply-side measures (fuel shifts or transition to energy sources not emitting greenhouse gases). In this chapter the distribution of different forms of energy resources are first briefly reviewed, with the purpose of identifying the possible mismatch between supply and demand on a geographical basis. Different scenarios for future energy supply systems addressing the greenhouse warming issue are then analysed with respect to their requirements for energy transmission and energy trade, with emphasis on whether the problem is local, regional or global. It is seen that for the clean fossil and safe nuclear scenarios, the countries of the world have been sharply divided into energy-exporting and energy-importing countries. The level of energy trade for the two scenarios cannot be directly compared, as the nuclear scenario values are in kilos and not energy units.
