While the recent fluctuation in the price of crude oil is being driven alternately by irrational hope followed by despair, the U.S. Energy Information Agency (the EIA, yep, it’s all bean counters there) is predicting that 2010 will bring enough economic growth that global CO2 emissions will increase by a modest 2.1% and that crude oil prices per barrel will average $81 through 2010 and $85 by the end of 2011.
This follows a 6.6% decline in CO2 emissions from fossil fuels in 2009, but will still be lower than the annual emissions from 1999-2008 when we were spending, growing and buying things on credit as if there was no tomorrow.