China overtakes US as top energy user worldwide

A new report says that China has overtaken the US as the world's biggest consumer of energy. China's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions rose 10.4 per cent in 2010 compared to the previous year.

UK-based oil major BP said on Wednesday that China moved to the top in 2010 with 20.3 per cent of global demand, ahead of the US at 19 per cent.

The report says China's consumption rose by 11.2 per cent last year compared with 3.7 per cent in the US. China's surge led a 5.6 per cent increase in global energy demand, the biggest one-year jump since 1973.

China was by far the world's largest consumer of coal, taking 48 per cent. The US remained the largest consumer of oil with 21 per cent of global demand, double of China's consumption.

China's emissions from energy use totalled 8.33 billion tonnes last year, while global carbon dioxide emissions grew 5.8 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to 33.16 billion tonnes, energy major BP's annual Statistical Review of World Energy showed.

"All forms of energy grew strongly (last year), with growth in fossil fuels suggesting that global CO2 emissions from energy use grew at the fastest rate since 1969," the review said.

Last month, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that global CO2 emissions hit their highest level ever in 2010, driven mainly by booming coal-reliant emerging economies.

Meanwhile, global coal consumption grew by 7.6 per cent last year in its fastest growth since 2003, as countries rebounded from the global economic downturn.

Coal now accounts for 29.6 per cent of global energy consumption, up from 25.6 per cent 10 years ago, BP said.

Chinese coal use grew by 10.1 per cent last year. It consumed 48.2 per cent of the world's coal, slightly up from around 47 per cent in 2009.

Meanwhile, global coal production rose by 6.3 per cent, with China up nine per cent, accounting for two-thirds of global growth. Elsewhere, coal production grew robustly in the US and Asia but fell in the European Union, explaining the relative strength of coal prices in Europe, BP said.

In terms of cleaner energy, global hydroelectric and nuclear output each experienced their strongest rises since 2004.

Hydroelectric output grew by 5.3 per cent globally, with China accounting for more than 60 per cent of global growth due to new capacity coming online and wet weather.

Worldwide nuclear output grew by two per cent in 2010, with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries accounting for threequarters of that increase. French nuclear output rose 4.4 per cent, representing the largest increase in the world.

Other renewable sources also grew. Global biofuels production was up 13.8 per cent at 240,000 barrels a day.

The US and Brazil drove most of that growth, rising 17 per cent and 11.5 per cent, respectively.

- With agency inputs