Global investment of $17,000 billion ($17 trillion, £9,700 billion), will be needed to safeguard supplies of energy for the world’s population over the next 25 years, according to research by the International Energy Agency.

The body has warned that current trends are unsustainable and that if renewable energy sources are not tapped, oil prices will soar on increased demand and greenhouse gas emissions will surge higher.

The world also faces becoming more dependent on Middle East oil supplies. The IEA warnined that the economic well-being of 95 per cent of the world’s population could be decided by "five or six" oil-rich states within a generation.

"These projected trends have important implications and lead to a future that is not sustainable," said Claude Mandil, the head of the global energy watchdog.

"We must change these outcomes and get the planet onto a sustainable energy path."

Global energy demand is expected to rise by 50 per cent by 2030, spurring a 52 per cent increase in greenhouse gasses, the IEA’s annual World Energy Outlook report said.

The figures will dash the hopes of environmentalists who have warned that greenhouse gasses are leading to global warming. The Kyoto protocol had set its sights at a 5 per cent reduction in emissions from 1990 levels by 2008-12 but was rejected by the United States, the world's biggest polluter.

According to the IEA, oil prices can be expected to rise "substantially" unless there is further investment in oil production and refinery facilities.

Years of under-investment in refinery capacity when oil prices were relatively low have been been earmarked as instrumental in fuelling recent high prices.

The IEA described financing the necessary investment in non-industrialised countries as "one of the biggest challenges posed by our energy-supply projections".

Crude oil hit a record of $70.85 a barrel in August in New York, in the wake of hurricane damage in the US Gulf, which hit a large part of America’s oil infrastructure.

However, the IEA did make it clear that the world has enough energy to last until 2030 - on current trends and despite the expected surge of demand - on condition that there is sufficient investment in the supply chain.

Two thirds of a more than 50-per cent rise in energy demand in next 25 years would come from developing countries, the IEA said.

"The world’s energy resources are adequate to meet the projected growth in energy demand in the reference scenario," the IEA said, adding that global oil reserves today "exceed the cumulative projected production between now and 2030."

Oil fell below $60 a barrel today as mild weather across the northern hemisphere and recovering US production eased concerns of a supply crunch. US light crude fell 76 cents to $59.82 a barrel in morning trade. In London, Brent crude fell 83 cents to $58.42.

Explore Economics

• Pre-Budget Report 2009

• Budget 2009

• World Economic Forum

• The Times MPC

Times Recommends

• Lies and cover-up at MG Rover exposed by report
• High oil prices push manufacturing costs up
• Primark founder steps down as chief executive