All of these countries are high-income economies, some of which are growing at rates faster than those for BRIC countries.

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Although high-income economies can sustain GDP growth with little increase in energy consumption, this is not the case in low- and middle-income economies, which have historically seen energy demand grow in tandem with per capita income growth.

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The strongest economies of the high-income world ( Norway, Canada, Australia, some Persian Gulf countries) produce oil and gas, coal, industrial minerals or food for the expanding global marketplace.

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