E2 Round-up: An efficient day in Houston, Summers touts natural gas, and world oil demand rises on China surge

Let’s start with a bit more from the big annual Cambridge Energy Research Associates conference in Houston. 

The consulting firm unveiled a study reinforcing a view that advocates of energy-savings technologies have long touted.

“The study . . . says that of all the options available, efficiency is the best way to improve the supply-demand balance quickly while keeping costs low and greenhouse gas emissions in check,” notes this Houston Chronicle piece.

Another big theme of the conference is the excitement around big U.S. supplies of natural gas from shale formations, notes Greenwire.

White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers alluded to the potential of U.S. gas in a speech to the conference, the Chronicle reports in a separate piece. He also “stressed President Barack Obama's commitment to passage of comprehensive energy legislation.”

But climate and energy legislation doesn’t seem to be among the top White House priorities this year.

Climate change is a high priority for the United Nations, but a new group overseeing UN climate financing efforts is under fire for lacking any semblance of gender balance. Apparently the 19 members appointed were all men, until France replaced its initial appointee with a woman, notes the New York Times.

A few other developments . . .

The International Energy Agency predicts that “world oil demand will rise this year due to surging economic activity in Asian countries, especially China,” the Associated Press reports.

“The Paris-based IEA, which advises oil-consuming countries, predicted in its monthly report that oil demand will average 86.6 million barrels a day this year, or 1.6 million barrels a day more than in 2009,” their story notes.

Alberta is cutting royalty rates charged for natural gas and conventional oil production to attract more investment, reports Dow Jones, the Vancouver Sun and other outlets.

The European Union is on track to meet or exceed its target of getting 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, Reuters reports.