McKinsey Global Institute

Natural Resources

Resource revolution

Resource revolution: Meeting the world’s energy, materials, food, and water needs

November 2011—Resource prices are rising and becoming more volatile. Without a resource revolution, we all face the prospect of damage to global growth, welfare, and the environment.more

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How energy will rebound
article|McKinsey Quarterly

Why energy demand will rebound

May 2009—Demand for energy will return, and oil prices could spike anew as soon as the world economy recovers.more

Averting the next energy crisis
report

Averting the next energy crisis: The demand challenge

March 2009—Global energy-demand growth is expected to flatten in the short term but will rebound with recovery. Indeed, there is potential for liquids-demand growth to outpace that of supply—risking a new spike in oil as soon as 2010 to 2013, depending on the depth of the economic downturn.more

Fueling sustainable energy productivity solution
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Fueling sustainable development: The energy productivity solution

October 2008—By choosing more energy-efficient cars and appliances, and selecting lower-energy-consuming production technologies, developing countries could cut their annual energy-demand growth by more than half over the next 12 years.more

Capturing European energy productivity opportunity
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Capturing the European energy productivity opportunity

September 2008—With energy-efficiency standards in Europe set higher than in many other regions, European companies are in a strong position to make large energy-cost savings and innovate lucrative new markets in energy-efficient technologies and services, attracting worldwide demand.more

investing in energy productivity
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The case for investing in energy productivity

February 2008—Additional annual investments in energy productivity of $170 billion through 2020 could cut global energy-demand growth by at least half while generating average internal rates of return of 17 percent. Such outlays would also achieve significant energy savings and cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions.more

high energy productivity in China
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Leapfrogging to higher energy productivity in China

July 2007—By taking advantage only of currently existing technologies that pay for themselves, China could further its ongoing efforts and reduce total energy demand in 2020 by as much as 23 percent. more

How U.S. can reach its energy potential
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Wasted energy: How the US can reach its energy productivity potential

June 2007—By capturing the potential available from existing technologies, the United States could cap US energy consumption, as well as its greenhouse gas emissions, at today's levels.more

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exploring energy
Exploring global energy demand

McKinsey Quarterly—An interactive graphic examines the growth of global energy and petroleum demand based on scenarios accounting for GDP and other factors, including the potential reduction in demand through increased energy productivity.more

80 percent of resource productivity

Resource productivity opportunities located in developing countriesmore