An international deal on climate change would overcome financial uncertainty in the energy industry as well as stop the current trend towards potentially catastrophic global warming, energy agency officials said Thursday.

The World Energy Council revealed that executives and officials in 93 countries regard the "climate framework" as a high impact, "critical uncertainty," blighting the industry on par with the more immediate economic and financial crisis.

"The climate framework is the top long term issue," WEC Secretary General Christoph Frei told a UN conference on energy security.

"It's the most important driver for change," Frei added, as he revealed the first results of survey of the council's members on the key issues on the global energy agenda.

"Long term visibility is absolutely critical, without that energy industry is going to face high uncertainty. That adds to cost... and ends up on everyone's bill eventually," Frei explained.

International Energy Agency senior economist Trevor Morgan also raised concerns about the impact of predicted growth in energy demand patterns if they carry on with their current mix of coal, oil, gas and renewables.

The IEA's reference scenario estimates that energy growth would raise carbon emissions to about 40 gigatonnes by 2030 against 28 this year.

It assumes that current patterns of demand go unchecked by other regulation or changes in energy markets.

"We don't think that this is going to happen and we hope that it's not going to happen," Morgan added.

The current path would lead to concentrations of about 1000 parts per million (ppm) of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, according to the iEA economist.

Many scientists regard that as their worst case scenario, triggering increase in warming of about six degrees Celsius by mid century.

"We're on a six degree (Celsius) increase path at the moment," Morgan explained.

"Unless there is a deal in Copenhagen or soon after... then demand is just going to continue to rise along the same path as in recent years."