China rejects label of biggest energy user
Source: Xinhua |
July 21, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A CHINESE energy official yesterday rejected a report by the International Energy Agency saying China surpassed the United States last year to become the world's largest energy consumer.
"The IEA's data on China's energy use is unreliable," Zhou Xi'an, an official with the National Energy Administration, told a press conference.
According to the IEA, China consumed the equivalent of 2.25 billion tons of oil in 2009, 0.4 percent more than the 2.17 billion tons used in the US.
However, China's National Bureau of Statistics said in a report in February that China's energy consumption last year stood at the equivalent of 3.1 billion tons of standard coal, which was equal to 2.13 billion tons of oil.
A National Energy Administration official who declined to be named said on the sidelines of the press conference that the IEA and China's statistical authority collected data from different sources, which led to the different results. He did not elaborate.
New energy
Zhou noted the IEA lacked understanding about China's relentless efforts to cut energy use and emissions, notably the country's aggressive expansion of new energy sources.
He said China had outpaced the US in expanding new energy sources, as it boasts the world's largest hydropower capacity, solar power water heating use, and nuclear power capacity currently under construction. It also has the world's fastest growth in wind power generation.
Luo Zhongwei, a researcher with the Institute of Industrial Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a government think tank, warned that some international institutions might politicize the IEA's report and make China a target amid negotiations on climate change.
"That would be a totally different story if some institutions use the excuse to press China to shoulder more responsibilities on emission reductions than it should," he said.
Fewer emissions
The Chinese government announced in November 2009 that the country would reduce carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP in 2020 by 40 to 45 percent compared with the levels found in 2005.
The government also vowed to cut energy consumption per unit of GDP by 20 percent between 2006 and 2010.
To achieve these goals, the country has stepped up its efforts on emission reductions and energy savings, including the elimination of outdated industrial capacity, the scrapping of export tax rebates on energy-intensive and polluting products and the promoting of new technologies.
Jiang Bing, head of the development and planning department of the NEA, said China will focus on using more non-fossil fuels and cutting carbon emissions over the next five years.
"The IEA's data on China's energy use is unreliable," Zhou Xi'an, an official with the National Energy Administration, told a press conference.
According to the IEA, China consumed the equivalent of 2.25 billion tons of oil in 2009, 0.4 percent more than the 2.17 billion tons used in the US.
However, China's National Bureau of Statistics said in a report in February that China's energy consumption last year stood at the equivalent of 3.1 billion tons of standard coal, which was equal to 2.13 billion tons of oil.
A National Energy Administration official who declined to be named said on the sidelines of the press conference that the IEA and China's statistical authority collected data from different sources, which led to the different results. He did not elaborate.
New energy
Zhou noted the IEA lacked understanding about China's relentless efforts to cut energy use and emissions, notably the country's aggressive expansion of new energy sources.
He said China had outpaced the US in expanding new energy sources, as it boasts the world's largest hydropower capacity, solar power water heating use, and nuclear power capacity currently under construction. It also has the world's fastest growth in wind power generation.
Luo Zhongwei, a researcher with the Institute of Industrial Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a government think tank, warned that some international institutions might politicize the IEA's report and make China a target amid negotiations on climate change.
"That would be a totally different story if some institutions use the excuse to press China to shoulder more responsibilities on emission reductions than it should," he said.
Fewer emissions
The Chinese government announced in November 2009 that the country would reduce carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP in 2020 by 40 to 45 percent compared with the levels found in 2005.
The government also vowed to cut energy consumption per unit of GDP by 20 percent between 2006 and 2010.
To achieve these goals, the country has stepped up its efforts on emission reductions and energy savings, including the elimination of outdated industrial capacity, the scrapping of export tax rebates on energy-intensive and polluting products and the promoting of new technologies.
Jiang Bing, head of the development and planning department of the NEA, said China will focus on using more non-fossil fuels and cutting carbon emissions over the next five years.
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