Offshore oil rig oil platform
Offshore oil rig oil platformISTOCK

The International Energy Agency (IEA) in a report is sounding the alarm on the dangers of a post-COVID surge in oil usage if "clean energy moves" are not implemented.

In the next two years, international demand for oil could far exceed pre-pandemic levels. There is a very real potential for demand to increase at the fastest rate in history unless renewable energy policies are put in place to soften what is predicted to be a record-breaking rebound, the agency concluded.

Developing countries, especially in Asia, are are expected to lead the surge in oil, which could break the record of 100 million barrels per day by 2023.

Current government initiatives towards a "green economic recovery" are so far not even on par with the comparatively modest levels of green funding seen in stimulus spending after the 2008 economic crash, reported The Guardian.

Pandemic caused changes to travel and workplaces, combined with emerging clean energy technologies and electric vehicles markets, have convinced energy researchers that oil demand will likely never see a return to pre-COVID levels. BP predicted that oil is facing a historic decades long decline.

However, the IEA report, while noting the probability of decreased oil consumption in advanced nations, notes that in the next five years, 90 percent of the world's demand for oil will come from Asian countries with growing populations and incomes.