Crude oil prices have more than doubled this year, reaching a record US$67.10 in New York last Friday. With strong economic growth and demand cited by analysts for the rises, more records seem inevitable.
Adjusted for inflation, the price is still far below the US$80 highs seen during the oil crisis of the 1970s. But the rises then were driven by conflict between producing and consuming nations - not today's burgeoning thirst for increasing amounts to fuel growth.
The need to pump more oil is at odds with increasing concerns about the role fossil fuels play in climate change. While most governments agree that rising temperatures and unpredictable weather are the result of the burning of oil, coal and gas, they are reluctant to curb growth by restricting production and imports of such fuels.
In some nations, particularly those in Europe, concern about such issues has reached the point of seeking alternatives. Wind power provides more than 20 per cent of the energy in Denmark and Germany and the trend is growing across the continent.
The world's biggest energy consumer, the United States, takes the approach of leaving it to companies themselves to take responsibility for cutting pollution outputs and has no national policy on seeking alternatives to fossil fuel. The mainland, the second-largest and fastest growing consumer of oil and coal, has a 2010 target for producing 10 per cent of its energy through alternatives, but seems unlikely to meet such a goal because of its spectacular economic growth.
In Hong Kong, although we complain about the quality of the air, there is little desire to look for alternatives. Petrol prices, electricity charges, airfares and the cost of some of the things we buy are rising in line with oil, but while we can afford to pay, there is just a grumble and no thought of seeking a solution.
