ChinasApproachtoEnergyandClimateChange 3 37 Chinaisamajorenergyproducer.Sincethe1990s , Chinahasalwaysmet over90percentofitsoverallenergyneedsonitsown.Chinawilladheretothe policyofmeetingitsenergyneedsmainlythroughdomesticsupply , andpriority willbegiventoraisingenergyefficiency.Chinasshorttermgoalistomeetthe targetofa20percentreductioninenergyconsumptionperunitofGDPby2020. However , Chinascurrentpercapitaconsumptionofenergyisverylow.Itis only66percentoftheworldaverage , 13.4percentofthatoftheUnitedStates , 26.7percentofthatofJapanand28.1percentofthatofBritain.Chinasper capitaoilimportsareonlyaquarteroftheworldaverageandonetwentiethofthose ofboththeUSandJapan.Ithasbeenonly14yearssinceChinabecameanetoil importerin1993 , andonlyfouryearssinceChinafinallybecameacountryimporting over100milliontonnesofoilperyear.However , Chinasoilimportshavesurgedsince 2003whenitreplacedJapanasthesecondlargestconsumerofpetroleumproductsin theworld.TheInternationalEnergyAgency ( IEA ) predictsthatby2030importswill accountfor85percentofChinastotaloilconsumption ( Chinascrudeoilimports increasedby14.5percentin2006alone ) .Thus , energyshortageisapossible bottleneckineconomicdevelopmentandinthelongterm , ifthisisnotresolved , Chinaseconomicfuturewillbeveryunstable. In2008 , ChinaovertooktheUnitedStatestobecomethelargestemitterofcarbon dioxideinthe world.By2020 Chinasaveragepercapitaenergyconsumptionis expectedtomatchthecurrentglobalaverage , meaningthatChinaalonewillaccountfor almostonethirdoftheworldstotalgreenhousegasemissionsbetween1990and2020 ( PaulandYu2005 ) .Thus , Chinaclearlymatterswhenitcomestoclimatechange. WithoutsubstantialeffortsonthepartofChinatolimitfuturecarbonemissions , any measuresundertakenbyothercountriestoaddresstheclimatechangequestionwillbe negated — hence , theimportanceofChinasapproachtoclimatechangeanditsrolein internationalnegotiations. Basedoncurrentprojections , therefore , fossilfuelsareexpectedtoremaina keypartofChinasenergymix , withoilplayinganincreasinglyprominentrole. Globally , oildemandisexpectedtogrowby1.3percentayear , from83.7 millionbarrelsperdayin2005to98.5millionbarrelsperdayin2015 , and116.3 millionbarrelsperdayin2030.Roughly42percentofthisincreaseddemand willcomefromIndiaandChina , while “ Chinaaccountsforthebiggestincreasein oildemandinabsolutetermsofanycountryorregion ”( InternationalEnergy Agency2007:79 ) . Inthefuture , theexpansionofChinastransportationsectorisexpectedto sharplyincreasethecountrysdemandforoil.Bytheyear2030 , automobile ownershipispredictedtoincreaseto400millionfromonly27millionin2004.
Konferenzband
China, the EU and Latin America : current issues and future cooperation
Entstehung
Einzelbild herunterladen
verfügbare Breiten