A decade of sustainability

The demand for energy has risen by 15 per cent during the 21st century and some forecasts expect this to have grown by 60 per cent by 2030. Demand is primarily being driven by population growth and economic development. The world's population has doubled during my lifetime, from three billion in 1961 to more than six billion today. That is as much as it has grown since time began and it is expected to hit nine billion by 2050.

Today, the bulk of energy demand is being supplied by hydrocarbons. But what of the future? Fossil-fuel derived energy has environmental implications and people are increasingly looking for more responsible suppliers. There is growing international debate over targets for the global rise in temperature, for CO

levels in the atmosphere and for annual emissions.

BP has been contributing to this debate for nearly a decade. John Browne, our chief executive, gave his first big speech on global climate change at Stanford when I was a student there in 1997. At the time, this was an extraordinary act for the leader of an international oil company.