Reuters

The Energy Shift now under way is as much geographical as it is technological. Case in point: By 2040, the developing world will account for 65 percent of the world’s energy consumption, according to a report released today by the United States Energy Information Administration.

That’s up from 54 percent in 2010, and over the next three decades energy consumption is predicted to grow at a 2.2 percent annual clip in non-OCED (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. OCED nations – including Europe, the US, Canada and Australia – in contrast, will see their energy use increase by just 0.5 percent a year, roughly in line with population growth.

Those numbers foreshadow a climate change catastrophe. Most of the growth in energy consumption will occur in countries like China and India that rely on carbon-polluting coal and other fossil fuels to generate electricity.

Greenhouse gas emissions grew a record 2.1 percent in 2012, according to the Global Carbon Project, a non-profit research institute, and now stand 58 percent higher than in 1990. About 57 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions originated in developing countries, with China and India accounting for a third of the worldwide carbon spew.

Much of the increase in the developing world’s energy use comes from population growth. India, for instance, is expected to add twice the number of people than will be born in the 34 OCED nations between 2010 and 2040.