China CO2 emissions rose over 10 percent in 2010: BP
By Nina Chestney; Editing by James Jukwey
8 Jun 2011 LONDON (Reuters) – China’s carbon dioxide emissions rose 10.4 percent in 2010 compared to the previous year as it surpassed the United States as the world’s biggest energy consumer, data released by BP on Wednesday showed. China’s emissions from energy use totaled 8.33 billion tonnes last year, while global carbon dioxide emissions grew 5.8 percent year-on-year to 33.16 billion tonnes, energy major BP’s annual Statistical Review of World Energy showed. “All forms of energy grew strongly (last year), with growth in fossil fuels suggesting that global CO2 emissions from energy use grew at the fastest rate since 1969,” the review said. Last month, the International Energy Agency said that global carbon dioxide emissions hit their highest level ever in 2010, driven mainly by booming coal-reliant emerging economies. BP said in its report that global energy consumption grew by 5.6 percent in 2010, its largest increase in percentage terms since 1973. Chinese energy consumption grew by 11.2 percent and China surpassed the U.S. as the world’s largest energy consumer. Global coal consumption grew by 7.6 percent last year in its fastest growth since 2003, as countries rebounded from the global economic downturn. Coal now accounts for 29.6 percent of global energy consumption, up from 25.6 percent 10 years ago, BP said. Chinese coal use grew by 10.1 percent last year. It consumed 48.2 percent of the world’s coal, slightly up from around 47 percent in 2009. Meanwhile, global coal production rose by 6.3 percent, with China up 9 percent, accounting for two thirds of global growth. Elsewhere, coal production grew robustly in the United States and Asia but fell in the European Union, explaining the relative strength of coal prices in Europe, BP said. …
