It's either a visionary look at the future or an early call for help, but Royal Dutch Shell executive Rob Routs today called for the oil and auto industries to cooperate more than they have in the past.

As noted in Automotive News (subs req'd), Routs said, "In the future I see [that] the business of making cars and the business of producing energy will be more linked than ever before. ... These [social and environmental] costs are increasingly unaffordable, especially as today's 900 million vehicles might grow to some 1.2 billion three decades from now."

Routs made the comments at the Automotive News Europe's New Powertrain Technologies Conference in Amsterdam. He also said that Shell's gas-to-liquid diesel blends provide a five percent CO2 emission reduction. He didn't say how much CO2 is emitted to make the GTL product compared to making straight diesel.

We'll keep our eye out for more news on Shell's second-generation biofuel that can be made from agricultural waste, straw or wood chips.

Actually, Routs' call is probably neither of the two choices I set up at the beginning of this post. It's more likely just good business strategy.

Related:

• Shell plans to quadruple Canadian oil sands production
• Shell president prefers E85 from biomass waste, not corn

[Source: Automotive News (subs req'd)]