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China, the EU and Latin America : current issues and future cooperation
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ChinasApproachtoEnergyandClimateChange 37 Chinaisamajorenergyproducer.Sincethe1990s Chinahasalwaysmet over90percentofitsoverallenergyneedsonitsown.Chinawilladheretothe policyofmeetingitsenergyneedsmainlythroughdomesticsupply andpriority willbegiventoraisingenergyefficiency.Chinasshorttermgoalistomeetthe targetofa20percentreductioninenergyconsumptionperunitofGDPby2020. However Chinascurrentpercapitaconsumptionofenergyisverylow.Itis only66percentoftheworldaverage 13.4percentofthatoftheUnitedStates 26.7percentofthatofJapanand28.1percentofthatofBritain.Chinasper capitaoilimportsareonlyaquarteroftheworldaverageandonetwentiethofthose ofboththeUSandJapan.Ithasbeenonly14yearssinceChinabecameanetoil importerin1993 andonlyfouryearssinceChinafinallybecameacountryimporting over100milliontonnesofoilperyear.However Chinasoilimportshavesurgedsince 2003whenitreplacedJapanasthesecondlargestconsumerofpetroleumproductsin theworld.TheInternationalEnergyAgency IEA predictsthatby2030importswill accountfor85percentofChinastotaloilconsumption Chinascrudeoilimports increasedby14.5percentin2006alone .Thus energyshortageisapossible bottleneckineconomicdevelopmentandinthelongterm ifthisisnotresolved Chinaseconomicfuturewillbeveryunstable. In2008 ChinaovertooktheUnitedStatestobecomethelargestemitterofcarbon dioxideinthe world.By2020 Chinasaveragepercapitaenergyconsumptionis expectedtomatchthecurrentglobalaverage meaningthatChinaalonewillaccountfor almostonethirdoftheworldstotalgreenhousegasemissionsbetween1990and2020 PaulandYu2005 .Thus Chinaclearlymatterswhenitcomestoclimatechange. WithoutsubstantialeffortsonthepartofChinatolimitfuturecarbonemissions any measuresundertakenbyothercountriestoaddresstheclimatechangequestionwillbe negated hence theimportanceofChinasapproachtoclimatechangeanditsrolein internationalnegotiations. Basedoncurrentprojections therefore fossilfuelsareexpectedtoremaina keypartofChinasenergymix withoilplayinganincreasinglyprominentrole. Globally oildemandisexpectedtogrowby1.3percentayear from83.7 millionbarrelsperdayin2005to98.5millionbarrelsperdayin2015 and116.3 millionbarrelsperdayin2030.Roughly42percentofthisincreaseddemand willcomefromIndiaandChina while Chinaaccountsforthebiggestincreasein oildemandinabsolutetermsofanycountryorregion InternationalEnergy Agency2007:79 Inthefuture theexpansionofChinastransportationsectorisexpectedto sharplyincreasethecountrysdemandforoil.Bytheyear2030 automobile ownershipispredictedtoincreaseto400millionfromonly27millionin2004.