The conference, on environmentally-friendly vehicles and fuels, was told that after decades of concern that petrol would run out, forecasts on future oil resources had become even more pessimistic.

"China represents 21 percent of the world's population and consumes eight percent of the world oil production. Will it be able to consume 21 percent of the world production? I don't believe it," said Kjell Aleklett, physics professor at Sweden's Uppsala University and a petroleum expert.

"Some time ago I was called a crazy guy," for warning about dwindling oil reserves, he told an audience of several hundred at the conference.

On Monday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that world energy demand will grow by 50 percent by 2030, adding in a report that two thirds of total demand would come from developing countries.

While predicting that current oil reserves exceed projected cumulated demand until 2030, the IEA also warned that 17,000 billion dollars of investment will be necessary to keep the taps open.

At the conference, Aleklett said such spending on oil production was not realistic, and investing in renewable energy sources was necessary.

He also foresaw international political and diplomatic risks, given that 75 percent of the most cheaply produced oil is located in Muslim countries.

In this context, biofuels needed to be especially promoted, according to experts who back "clean" vehicles, whose emissions pose little or no environmental problems.

According to Andre Faaij, of the Copernicus institute for sustainable development at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, 10 percent of the world's energy consumption was already being met by biomass, but its use was limited to a small number of industries.

Biomass comprises all biological organisms, excluding fossile materials such as coal or oil, and becomes biofuel when used to produce energy.

Faaij said there was a major potential for biofuel production to meet transport needs, especially in central and eastern Asia, in central Australia and the Americas. In Europe, he singled out Poland and Romania.

India, where automobile penetration is still weak at seven vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants, "green" fuel solutions were already being given a high priority, said Pamela Tikku, of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

Jatropha plants, which yield an oil which can be mixed with diesel fuel, are being planted along India's railway network, the world's largest, and other land not in agricultural use, to supply trains and coaches.

Jatropha grows wild in many areas of India and does not need fertile soil to thrive. Oil can be extracted from its nuts, and then be transformed into biofuel.

Four Indian states have experimented with mixing oil-based fuels with ethanol, which can be derived from wheat, beets, corn or sugar cane.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

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