. "3 The Developing World - The Case of China." The National Academies Summit on America's Energy Future: Summary of a Meeting. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2008.
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The National Academies Summit on America’s Energy Future: Summary of a Meeting
CHINA’S ENERGY USE IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
Kelly Sims Gallagher began her talk at the summit by comparing China’s energy use with that of the United States (Table 3.1). In 2006, China consumed 72 percent as much energy as did the United States. However, China is quickly catching up. Total energy consumption in China increased 70 percent between 2000 and 2005. And total coal consumption increased by 75 percent during the same time period. However, because China’s population is more than four times that of the United States, the country’s per capita use of energy is much lower.
China’s oil imports also have grown rapidly, but they are still less than one-third U.S. levels. China’s coal consumption, however, is already twice that of the United States. Coal is China’s most abundant energy resource, even though the United States has much greater reserves. Coal accounts for 93 percent of China’s remaining fossil fuel resources. Three-quarters of China’s electricity comes from coal—526 gigawatts, as of 2007. Hydropower accounts
TABLE 3.1 Energy Comparisons Between the United States and China
USA
China
China/USA
Total energy consumption, 2006 (million tons of oil equivalent)
2,326
1,697
72%
Net oil imports, 2006 (million barrels per day)
12.3
3.4
28%
Total oil consumption, 2006 (million barrels per day)
20.6
7.4
36%
Electricity capacity, 2007 (gigawatts)
992
713
63%
Coal consumption, 2006 (million tons of oil equivalent)
