Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Hydroelectricity
6%
Nuclear
Energy 1%
Hydroelectricity
6%
Renewables 1%
Renewables 2%
Nuclear
Energy 5%
Oil
18%
Oil
33%
Natural Gas
4%
Coal
30%
Coal
70%
Natural Gas
24%
China
World Avg
Figure 6.2
. Comparison of Fuel Proile in China vs. Global Average in 2011
Source
: BP (2011).
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Figure 6.3
. Top 10 Coal Consuming Nations in 2010
Source of data
: BP (2011).
United States, with a 19% share of global energy consumption, comes near
to matching China's prodigious consumption levels.
As Figure 6.2 suggests, the fact that China's immense energy appetite is
currently being satiated by a CO
2
-intensive energy mix (largely due to the
dominance of coal-ired power generation) is of great international conster-
nation regarding climate change mitigation eforts.
Figure 6.3 graphically illustrates the comparative scale of Chinese coal
consumption. Of the top 10 coal consuming nations, China's total coal con-
sumption in 2010 was 26% higher than the nine others combined.
It is primarily due to coal-ired power that China is now the largest national
contributor of GHG emissions. As Figure 6.4 illustrates, between 1990 and
2009, CO
2
emissions in China increased threefold. China's 4.63-gigaton
increase constituted 69% of the 6.74-gigaton global increase over the same
period. By 2009, CO
2
emissions in China accounted for 24% of global annual
