Special Award From Russian Science Academy Honours the IEAs "World Energy Outlook 2001"

On behalf of the Paris-based International Energy Agency, Dr. Fatih Birol today accepted a special award for "World Energy Outlook 2001: Assessing Today's Supplies to Fuel Tomorrow's Growth" from the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dr. Birol, head of the IEA's Economic Analysis Division and editor of the book, described the award as an honour for himself, his collaborators and the Agency as a whole.

In a short acceptance speech, he described the "double role" of energy ? as an indispensable pillar of economic development and as a potential cause of environmental degradation ? and compared it to the "double" theme of good and evil in classical Russian literature. To overcome the "doubleness" inherent in energy, Dr. Birol said, it is essential to "create an atmosphere of global cooperation and understanding in which each country in the world can decide on its own future."

In making the presentation Oleg Favorsky, head of the Academy's Department of Energetics, praised the IEA book for its wide coverage of all energy resources, its objective analysis and its "balanced geographical views about the importance of energy resources."

"World Energy Outlook" is one the of the IEA's flagship publications. In even-numbered years, it presents a worldwide projection of energy trends for the coming decades. In odd-numbered years, the "WEO Insights" series appears, dealing with a major energy subject, such as supplies or prices/subsidies. The next "World Energy Outlook" will be published in September and will contain projections up to the year 2030.