American intelligence agencies recently looked into their crystal balls and forecast a challenging and, in some cases, scary world in 2025.

Most of the news headlines emanating from the report have focused on nuclear weapons and the decline of American dominance, but there is plenty of sobering analysis about other subjects to keep one up nights as well.

Take, for instance, the competition for dwindling energy resources.

Many leaders and activists in America and elsewhere advocate cuts in fossil fuel use as a way to arrest the growing dangers of climate change and fights over scarcity.

But the intelligence community’s report, called Global Trends 2025, warns that forcibly reducing fossil fuel use before energy substitutes are widely available could threaten continued economic development in countries like China, where industry has not yet achieve high levels of energy efficiency. As now projected, new energy technologies “probably will not be commercially viable and widespread by 2025,” the report said.

The report, which draws on scores of interviews and discussion groups on five continents, seems well vetted. But as we said in an editorial about it, the conclusions are not inevitable.

An American president and Congress that choose to treat issues of this kind as a priority could have an impact, maybe even a significant impact, on what happens.

Among the reports other findings:

— If there is greater integration and cooperation among Asian nations, Asia could set the energy terms for the rest of the world. That’s because two-thirds of Mideast oil exports go to Asia and 70 percent of Asian imports are from the Middle East. If, however, such cooperation does not evolve, competition for oil supplies could lead to a naval arms race among China, India and Japan.

— There will be a growing concentration of oil and gas deposits, with Russia and Iran emerging as “the energy kingpins.” Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Iraq (potentially), and Russia are projected to account for 39 percent of total world oil production.

— Natural gas use is likely to grow steadily in absolute terms. But coal may be the fastest growing energy source. It’s dirty, but as energy prices rise, coal will be attractive because it is cheap, abundant and close to markets. The United States, China, India, and Russia possess the four largest coal reserves.

— Use of civilian nuclear power will expand, but the increase will not be sufficient to fill the growing demand for electricity.

If you’re sleeping too well now, you can read the intelligence agencies’ prognosis for 2025 here. (PDF)