Until now, few householders or business owners have had to devote much attention to the rather abstract subject of sustainable energy.

Trying to get motorists to make a connection between driving their cars and global warming is a hugely challenging task. Getting householders to make connections between attic insulation and energy conservation is not child's play either.

But making those kinds of connections is precisely what David Taylor, chief executive of Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI), is paid to do. "Individuals need to feel that their actions will actually matter in the end," he says.

SEI is a Government-funded organisation with a simple objective - "to promote and assist the development of sustainable energy". It receives over €13 million in State funding annually and has an advisory role to the Minister for Communications and Natural Resources, Noel Dempsey.

Despite its official mandate, it is probably fair to say that until now the Government, the media and industry have not reacted to the organisation's pronouncements with any great sense of urgency.

But with oil prices escalating, environmental conditions arguably worsening and the electricity sector suffering from a lack of capacity, it may be time to listen very carefully to what SEI is saying.

Taylor, a chemical engineer by training, does not pull any punches when sketching out the future for consumers.

"It's fundamental that consumers realise that the era of cheap oil and abundant supplies is over. The outlook is that by 2025, the developing world will need more energy than we use today," he says.

While this unpalatable message is unlikely to please consumer groups, who in recent weeks have been complaining about hikes in gas and electricity prices, Taylor says he has some sympathy with the view that energy companies also need to become more efficient.

He says the EU Commission hoped free markets and liberalisation would force the big energy companies to become more efficient and consumer friendly, but he acknowledges that the results have been slower than expected.

However, shortages of energy and higher prices do at least concentrate minds, says Taylor.

"The fact that prices are rising forces two things. Firstly, there is behaviour change in the present, where individuals and companies look at their energy bills and answer the question for themselves: 'How better can I manage? How can I reduce waste? How can I avoid these costs and get the benefits?' The same kind of reappraisal will go on when anyone is making a future investment. In other words, people buying a home will begin to factor in higher commuting costs, higher heating costs or electricity costs - they'll come to a different solution about what they might buy, how it's specified or indeed where they might buy it." He says companies will also make similar judgment calls.

This week is Energy Awareness Week, so how are Irish people and Irish companies wasteful of energy in general?

Taylor presents a mixed report card. "There is no doubt that energy is wasted in our daily lives, at home, in business, but at the same time, I think we can point to significant areas where performance in that regard has improved," he says.

"If we were to look at the energy that it takes to heat an Irish home today, it's half of what it might have been in 1980. If you look at the carbon emissions associated with heating an Irish home today, compared with 1980, they are halved again," he explains.

Taylor is careful not to get into an elongated debate about a carbon tax, but says whether people like it or not, the Government has decided that competitiveness would be harmed too much by the introduction of such a measure.

He also says that when the Government rejected the idea, fuel prices were nowhere near what they are now. So without saying it too bluntly, he appears to believe that a carbon tax will not be introduced for quite some time - if ever.

While this may disappoint some, Taylor is adamant other things can be done to deal with energy shortages - most obviously energy efficiency in the home.

He says while some building firms are not tripping over themselves to build more energy-efficient homes, other developers realise that they have no choice because house buyers will ultimately demand these things anyway.

Taylor says the organisation's role is likely to expand in the years ahead, not decrease.

"If you look at the scale of transformation that needs to take place, to move from where we are now, on to a sustainable basis - that's going to be the dominant priority over the next 30 to 50 years. This is not something you can change overnight. What's key is that long-lived investments take account of the future."