A new US report analyses the global implications for China's insatiable appetite for energy
An in-depth study conducted by America's Rice University titled “The Rise of China and its Energy Implications” claims that China will be unable to effectively curb or streamline its energy use in the near future.
One of the study's key predictions is that Chinese oil demand will match that of the US, who have long been criticised for their excessive consumption of natural resources, by 2040. The study also notes that “China's recent efforts at centralising energy policy” are no more effective at controlling consumption than the US' “makeshift patch work of energy initiatives.”
Despite the National Development and Reform Commission's (NDRC) optimistic target to put five million electric vehicles on China's roads by 2030, sales of privately owned cars will still play a large part in the countries rising energy demands. The number of cars on Chinese roads rose from around 14.5 million in 1999 to 62.9 million by 2009.
The report predicts that this number will rise even more dramatically to 220 million vehicles by 2020 and then to 770 million by 2040. This means that by 2040, just under half of the Chinese population will own a car. This will still leave them some way short of the US where some 83% of people currently own a car today.
The study also implies that China's energy investments in crisis regions, such as Sudan, Iran, Libya and Venezuela, will compel China to act “in concert” with the worldwide community, as investing in such risky regions will cause it to become more and more embroiled in foreign diplomacy.