Until the 1990s
China was an
exporter of oil
but is now a
significant
importer
In 2009 China
produced 3.8
million barrels
daily but,
contrastingly, the
country consumed
8.6 barrels daily
With China's
rapidly
expanding
economy in the
1980s-1990s
they became
heavily reliant
on coal
Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel and according to Greenpeace 80% of China's CO2 emissions came from burning coal
Resulted to high casualty rate
among coal miners-coal accidents
reached nearly 7,000 in 2002 and
many are illegally ran mines
Transportation
required-50% via rail
How and why
is demand
changing?
Due to China's industrial expansion, they overtook
the US in 2010 in total energy usage after the US
held the top position for over a century
Only a decade before,
China's energy
consumption was half
that of the US
Where are they going
to get their supply
from in the future?
2006-plan published
to restructure China's
coal sector and
reduce fragmentation
in the industry-aim to
close all small mines
by 2015
Priority has been
given to build up the
national oil reserve
Building up a petroleum reserve
China's energy pathways have
increased significantly providing security
Largest manufacturer
of solar PVs
What are the
global
consequences?
China aims to have a more
diverse resources -multi
energy solution (15% non
fossil fuels by 2020)
Less environmental
impact e.g. an
experimental facility near
Beijing has recently been
built to remove CO2 from
power station emissions
and use it for carbonating
beverages & there are
possible locations to
capture and store CO2
China will take a leading role in the green energy manufacturing business
Lessen
the
reliance on
oversea
supplies
"The fact that China overtook the US as the world's largest energy consumer
symbolises the start of a new age in the history of energy"-Faith Birol, 2010