New energy tied to new cooperation

Humanity’s darkest hour may be just decades away, touched off by a desperate and increasingly violent struggle for energy resources.

Futurist scenarios examined by the International Energy Agency, Shell Oil, a Stockholm-based think-tank, and others see “grim” prospects for civilization if nations fail to manage a smooth transition to new energy systems as conventional fossil fuel supplies dwindle.

Optimistic scenarios assume an easy transition to other sources of energy — including the gasification of coal and its widespread adoption as a replacement for gasoline.

But those scenarios also rely on an unprecedented new era of cooperation among already developed nations, ambitious developing nations, and oil-rich nations that, to date, have put national interests ahead of those of their trading partners.

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