In its annual Outlook 2030 report, BP predicts a 36 percent increase in energy use between 2011 and 2030. That outstrips forecast population growth of 18.5 percent to 8.3 billion but comes as world income is expected to roughly double in real terms.

The reduction in so-called energy intensity - energy use per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) - is bringing the measure back down to levels not seen since the late 19th Century.

The trend, along with a strongly rising market share of non-fossil fuels, will not be enough to keep greenhouse gas emissions below the International Energy Agency (IEA) central target of 450 parts per million (ppm) of carbon-dioxide equivalent.