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British ambassador pays visit to UW

Speaking about energy and climate security Friday at the Memorial Union Theater, Britain's ambassador to the United States, Sir David Manning, said we are amid a worldwide crisis.

"With a century into the age of oil, we don't even know how much is left," Manning said.

Tia Nelson, president of the University of Wisconsin Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, introduced Manning and the topic of climate change.

According to Nelson, climate control is the most evasive threat to the environment and to mankind.

"Climate change is a reality," Nelson said. "We are experiencing it, and that's a matter of scientific consensus."

In his speech, Manning said the challenge of energy conservation seems to be at the forefront of foreign policy this year, adding that energy is a central issue in China, Iran, Iraq, Russia and Venezuela in particular.

According to Manning, President George W. Bush made energy independence the centerpiece of the State of the Union address by saying America was addicted to oil.

"British government, the European Union and U.S. administration are all faced with a common problem: how can the international community secure reliable, affordable, sustainable resources of energy?" Manning said. "We have to address this question in a complicated and difficult international environment."

Manning attributed rapid population growth, finite supplies and more concentrated oil and gas supplies as key factors driving the energy crisis.

According to Manning, rapid population growth in industrializing countries alters rising energy demand. Manning noted that 40 percent of the world's population resides in China and India.

"The International Energy Agency predicts that energy demand will rise up to 60 percent by 2030. The total consumption of oil is 50 percent higher now than it was in 1985," Manning said. "And we've seen it go up in demand 15 percent since 2000."

By 2025, Manning added, the United States may be consuming as much oil as today's combined use by Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan and New Zealand.

Manning also focused on increasing oil consumption in India and China. He noted that both countries' oil consumption doubled during the 1990s, and China's is expected to double again by 2010.

"The unavoidable fact is that pumping [of gas] is uncertain," Manning said, adding that global competition for energy sources increasingly threatens international instability.

One of the most intriguing points in this debate, according to Manning, is that oil consumption is continuously growing.

"The International Energy Agency predicts that if we do nothing, global demand for oil will reach 121 million barrels of oil a day by 2030, which is up from 85 million today," he said.

Manning said he was pleased to be able to present at UW, calling Madison "a university with a worldwide reputation."