Atop State Department energy official said July 24 that an unexpected abundance of U.S. natural gas, China's increasing appetite for coal, and increased electricity demands in Africa are likely to profoundly impact global energy markets in the decades ahead. The changes have implications for U.S. energy security and prosperity but also "the sustainability of our planet," a pronouncement that may sound "melodramatic," according to Carlos Pascual, the State Department's special envoy and coordinator for international energy affairs. But "the stakes are that big," Pascual said at a forum held by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Brookings Institution.
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