25 April 2006 - Improving energy efficiency is the best short term solution to global energy constraints in energy supplies, according to the executive director of the International Energy Agency, Claude Mandil.

In his keynote speech at the 10th International Energy Forum in Doha, Qatar, Mandil said: "The best option in the short term is to improve energy efficiency. Increasing the diversity of the energy mix, in a cost effective way, will also help over time."

The forum is held every two years and is attended by Ministerial delegations from more than 60 key producing and consuming countries.

Mandil stressed at the opening ceremony that efficiency improvements would be necessary for all those involved in energy production to make up for years of underinvestment that will take several years to resolve.

"Major investment, together with energy efficiency improvements, is needed along the entire energy chain to overcome the challenges we are confronting in today's energy markets."

The executive director called immediate investment to ensure adequate supplies of all forms of energy stating that if current policies remained in place global energy demand would grow by 25 per cent by 2015 and by that time oil demand will reach 99.5 million barrels/day.