India to add 12k cars a day, ACs to consume more power than entire Mexico by 2035: IEA

PTI New Delhi India will over the next decade add more than 12,000 cars a day, expand built space equivalent to the built space in South Africa, and its air-conditioners will consume more electricity than entire power consumption in Mexico, the IEA said. It is likely to see a rise in demand for all forms of energy -- from oil and gas to coal, electricity and renewable energy through 2035, making it the growth engine for energy demand globally, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its World Energy Outlook 2024. India, the world's third largest oil consuming and importing nation, will see its demand for oil rise by almost 2 million barrels per day by 2035 and become the main source of oil demand growth in the world. According to IEA projections, the country is on track to become the third-largest economy in the world by 2028. It was the world's fifth largest economy and the fastest growing major economy in 2023, with output increasing by 7.8 per cent. India overtook China in 2023 to become the most populous country in the world, even as its fertility rate dropped below replacement level.

"The population size and the scale of rising demand from all sectors mean that India is poised to experience more energy demand growth than any other country over the next decade," IEA said. In stated policies scenario (STEPS), "India is on track to add over 12,000 cars every day to its roads over the period to 2035. Built space is set to increase by over 1 billion square metres annually, which is larger than the total built space in South Africa today," IEA said. By 2035, iron and steel production are on track to grow by 70 per cent; cement output is set to rise by nearly 55 per cent; and the stock of air-conditioners is projected to grow by over 4.5 times, resulting in electricity demand from air-conditioners in 2035 that is more than Mexico's total expected electricity consumption that year," it said.