Greater efficiency, not a new wonder fuel, is the answer to higher oil prices

Higher priced energy will slow global economic growth and that damages living standards everywhere, including the UK. No, I think the big issue is the extent to which high-priced fossil fuels stimulate the quest both for greater efficiency in energy use and the development of alternative sources. And the great unknown is whether there is a radical alternative out there, already in some laboratory, that will change everything. It has to be out there now, for it typically takes 30 years for a development to get from the initial invention to widespread global application.

The Independent