OPEC: Oil will be world’s No. 1 energy source for decades

By DAVID McHUGH
AP Business Writer

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The OPEC cartel is laying out the future of oil _ and saying crude will still be the world’s leading source of energy for decades to come. The Vienna-based organization said that it inherently supports efforts to reduce the amount of carbon from fossil fuels used in the energy mix. And it says energy use in rich countries will likely decline due to increasing efficiency, lower growth and aging populations. But growing populations and new middle classes in the rest of the world will demand more energy. It cautions that governments’ ambitious plans to reduce fossil fuel emissions remain just that _ plans.