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Energy has been one of the most important issues and challenge humans face in the 21st century which has a bearing on international economic and social development, global climate changes and environment protection. With a focus on development trends of world energy, this paper analyses the current world energy status and from the perspectives of energy sources, regions, end-use sectors, the balance of energy production and consumption, and in the context of its implications on the global environmental and economic and social development by using a series of indicators such as total primary energy, total final energy, energy consumption and CO2 emission intensity per capita and per GDP to compare and study. The main development trends contains depletion of fossil fuels, rapid development of renewable energy, aggravated environmental problems by energy-related GHG emissions, more unbalanced and interdependent regional energy production and consumption, more efficient energy industry; globalization and so on. This article expounds humans’ efforts to make progress in developing renewable energy and reducing energy-related environmental impacts. In the end of the paper, world energy structure development and middle-term energy consumption are projected, and the general orientations of world energy development trends in future are presented.

Energy has been one of the most important issues and challenge humans face in the 21st century which has a bearing on international economic and social development, global climate changes and environment protection. With a focus on development trends of world energy, this paper analyses the current world energy status and from the perspectives of energy sources, regions, end-use sectors, the balance of energy production and consumption, and in the context of its implications on the global environmental and economic and social development by using a series of indicators such as total primary energy, total final energy, energy consumption and CO2 emission intensity per capita and per GDP to compare and study. The main development trends contains depletion of fossil fuels, rapid development of renewable energy, aggravated environmental problems by energy-related GHG emissions, more unbalanced and interdependent regional energy production and consumption, more efficient energy industry; globalization and so on. This article expounds humans’ efforts to make progress in developing renewable energy and reducing energy-related environmental impacts. In the end of the paper, world energy structure development and middle-term energy consumption are projected, and the general orientations of world energy development trends in future are presented.