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Why?\u00a0\u00a0Well, China is the world\u2019s biggest producer of hydroelectricity and other renewables.\u00a0\u00a0Indeed, China is the world\u2019s biggest producer of BOTH wind and solar energy<\/strong>\u2014bet you didn\u2019t know that!<\/p>\n But the real reason is coal.\u00a0\u00a0China is by far the world\u2019s biggest coal producer, accounting for nearly half of global production.\u00a0\u00a0(In contrast, the US as the biggest oil & natural gas supplier accounts for \u201conly\u201d 17% and 23%, respectively, of the global totals\u2026)\u00a0\u00a0The energy content of China\u2019s coal production is bigger than US oil, natural gas, and coal production\u00a0combined<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0No other form of energy is dominated by one country like coal is by China.\u00a0\u00a0Within China, coal accounts for 58% of total energy use; for all other countries, coal\u2019s share of total energy use is just 17%.<\/p>\n This has massive implications for CO2 emissions, which fell significantly last year in the US and other mature economies, but increased in China and other emerging economies.<\/p>\n So China\u2019s the #1 energy producer.\u00a0\u00a0But who is changing fastest\u2014how about looking at energy supply\u00a0growth<\/u>\u00a0in 2019?<\/p>\n Surely the continued massive growth of US oil and natural gas thanks to the shale revolution has to make the US the biggest source of energy supply growth?\u00a0\u00a0(Note that this data was recorded before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has driven US oil & gas production sharply lower this year\u2026)<\/p>\n Wrong again.\u00a0\u00a0The world\u2019s biggest growth<\/strong> in energy supply<\/strong> last year came from\u2026China.<\/p>\n Overall US energy production did grow rapidly last year \u2013 by almost 6% \u2013 but oil & natural gas production increases were partly offset by a large decline in domestic coal production, which continues to lose market share in power generation to gas & renewables.\u00a0\u00a0Indeed, the US had the world\u2019s biggest decline in coal production last year.<\/p>\n While the US had the largest growth in oil & gas production, China had the largest growth in everything else:\u00a0\u00a0nuclear, hydro, other renewables\u2026and in coal (though interestingly, the increase in coal barely accounted for half of China\u2019s total energy production growth last year).<\/p>\n By the way, China is the world\u2019s biggest producer AND consumer of energy.\u00a0\u00a0On the supply side, it passed the US in 2005; it became the biggest consumer in 2009.\u00a0\u00a0China produces 20% of global energy, while consuming 24% (with 18% of the world\u2019s population and about 16% of global GDP at market exchange rates).\u00a0The US consumes and produces 16% of the world total, with 4% of the population and 24% of global GDP.\u00a0With its heavy dependence on coal, China also accounts for nearly 30% of global energy-related CO2 emissions, compared with 15% for the US.<\/p>\n Even though the US didn\u2019t have the world\u2019s largest energy production increase in 2019, last year\u2019s growth DID achieve something extraordinary:\u00a0\u00a0The US Energy Department reports that in net terms, the US achieved overall energy self-sufficiency for the first time since 1952.\u00a0\u00a0China, on the other hand, was self-sufficient until the mid-1990s, and over the past 25 years has become the world\u2019s largest energy importer (net in energy terms), relying on imports to meet nearly 20% of total consumption.\u00a0\u00a0China imports more energy than Japan consumes.\u00a0\u00a0But note:\u00a0\u00a0China has managed to slightly improve its energy self-sufficiency in recent years, with domestic forms of energy growing more rapidly than imports.<\/p>\n Bottom line:\u00a0\u00a0While the shale revolution in the US has been a game-changer for the US domestic energy situation, and for global oil & natural gas markets, the global energy system \u2013 both supply AND demand \u2013 is more about China.\u00a0\u00a0And ditto for energy-related CO2 emissions.<\/p>\n Objective data is crucial to good decision-making. When it comes to China, you can follow the\u00a0research and data<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0collected at the Baker Institute that looks deeply into the country\u2019s energy demand, supply, and infrastructure. For the global picture, have a look at the BP data for yourself.<\/p>\n You may find some energy trivia that can earn you a free drink now that bars are starting to open up again!<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enerjigazetesi.ist\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/img-2-500x301.png\")
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