$45 TRIL. NEEDED TO HALVE GLOBAL C02 EMISSIONS BY 2050

TOKYO, June 6 Kyodo - The world needs to invest at least an additional $45 trillion in technology and its deployment through 2050 to halve global carbon dioxide emissions from current levels by that time, the International Energy Agency said Friday. The IEA said the investment target translates into about $1.1 trillion each year, which represents 1.1 percent of average annual global gross domestic product, roughly equivalent to Italy's current GDP. In its latest publication, ''Energy Technology Perspectives 2008,'' the Paris-based agency highlighted the importance of accelerating efforts to develop and introduce innovative technology to achieve the CO2 reduction goal. On the back of strong demand for power from China, India and other emerging economies, the IEA said on average 25 gas-fired and 35 coal-fired power plants must be equipped with new CO2 capture and storage technology each year between 2010 and 2050 at a cost of $1.5 billion each. In addition, the IEA, formed by 27 industrialized countries, estimates that 17,500 large wind power turbines and 32 new nuclear power plants will have to be built around the world every year. The 643-page report was compiled in response to a request from leaders of the Group of Eight leading economies for the agency to provide scenarios on what needs to be done by 2050 to achieve better energy use. The extensive recommendations and estimates in the report will serve as the basis for discussions at the G-8 summit meeting July 7-9 in Hokkaido, northern Japan. The summit will bring together the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States. ''This is exactly our response'' to the G-8 countries, IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka said in Tokyo shortly after the release of the report, which came ahead of this weekend's G-8 energy ministers meeting in the northeastern Japanese city of Aomori. ''We will require immediate policy action and a technological transition on an unprecedented scale,'' Tanaka, who will also attend the energy meeting, said at the Japan National Press Club. ''It will essentially require a new global energy revolution which would completely transform the way we produce and use energy,'' he said. To achieve the 50 percent cut target, the IEA, founded in 1974 in the wake of the first oil crisis, said the deployment of underutilized technology is required, including 215 million square meters of solar panels and nearly a billion electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. On the demand side, the IEA said energy-efficiency steps are the most important, especially in the power generation and transport sectors. The report identified 17 key technologies for energy conservation and provided global roadmaps for them for the first time. The IEA warned that if the international community takes no immediate action to realize the latest proposals, by 2050 oil demand could expand by 70 percent and there would be a 130 percent increase in CO2 emissions. On soaring crude oil prices, Tanaka told a separate news conference later in the day in Tokyo that an improvement in the balance of supply and demand is particularly crucial. ''We think the current price level is too high, especially for developing countries. They are suffering,'' Tanaka said at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan. Although there are many factors, he said fundamentals are the major driving force behind the price. As the IEA believes underground oil reserves are sufficient until 2030, Tanaka said he does not side with ''the oil-peak theory.'' He said the major problem is the shortage of investment to bolster spare oil output capacity ''not underground'' but ''above ground.'' Supply growth is ''not matching the speed of expanded demand,'' he said. Tanaka urged energy ministers from the G-8 powers as well as China, India and South Korea to recognize that the current price level is too high and to pledge to make the oil market more transparent when they meet in Aomori. ''We need more data to make the market function better,'' Tanaka said, noting that the IEA has no access to the inventory data of some countries. ''Make the market work better...that makes the difference,'' he said.