China has added yet another accomplishment to its mantel?the International Energy Agency has rated the country the world?s largest energy consumer. It now exceeds the US?s level of energy consumption by a little over 4%, as measured in million tonnes of oil equivalents, a rating strongly contested by China. The Chinese refute this claim saying the figures overstate their consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. They maintain that the economy increasingly uses more energy efficient methods, while continuing to increase the share of renewable sources of energy in their total consumption.
However, the debate on figures is irrelevant. Without China?s growing appetite for energy, oil prices would be much lower, spurring higher consumption?especially since the world is still in recovery mode. And besides, if not this year, China will have overtaken the US by next year or the year after. A word of caution?since the US is still recovering from a severe economic downturn, the country?s energy consumption is still 20% below its all-time high, causing somewhat of a ?base effect?.
What emerges from this debate, besides China?s galloping growth rate despite cooling measures, is the shift in the trend of energy consumption. Non-OECD Asia, the Middle East and Latin America will now fuel world oil demand through rising economic growth. Thus, it is projected that the emerging countries? appetite for oil is large enough to negate the drop in developed countries? demand. Levels of energy consumption are considered a benchmark for economic growth and the world?s oil reserves are not sufficient to sustain the current rates of expansion.
Furthermore, although both China and India?s overall consumption of energy is very high, their per capita figures are still far below that of the US. Thus, there is only one direction in which to move?upwards?implying that the energy needs of developing countries is only set to increase. Given this data and that both China and India are yet importers of oil, it is all the more imperative for the countries to explore alternative sources of energy. While China still depends on coal for over 70% of its energy needs, it has set a target of obtaining 15% of its energy from renewable sources. However, given the rates of expansion, dependence on non-renewable sources will continue to pose a threat to not only growth but also the environment and must steadily be replaced with greener sources.
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