The targets established by the EU’s Third measures Package, the COP-16 climate summit and other similar measures are guiding the world towards CO2 emission-free energy consumption.

A large portion of the analyses compiled by international bodies project oil to experience diminished growth in comparison to previous years, although all agree that crude oil will continue to play a preeminent role in global energy needs.

Crude oil prices have fluctuated, for the most part, between $70 and $80/barrel (spiking above $80 come springtime, when predictions signalled the crisis’s imminent conclusion, and approaching $90/barrel in December), roughly 10 dollars more than in 2009. However, the final two months saw an upswing commence, due to the recovery of certain European economies and the solvency maintained by large emerging countries.

Natural gas prices in the spot market have remained low. In the US market (Henry Hub), for example, prices oscillated between $3.5 and $5/million BTU.

In 2010, coal’s evolution mirrored the price of crude oil. Coal reached threshold values in the international market from mid February to mid April(roughly $75/tonne, according to the McCloskey index), thereafter exceeding $90/tonne in May, $100/tonne in mid October and $120 per tonne come December.