

Image credit: Jon Knox.



2011 was another banner year for coal in China, as consumption grew by over 9 percent, continuing a trend which has seen year on year increases for over a decade. China’s coal use now accounts for 47 percent of global consumption, almost as much as the rest of the world combined.

According to the US Energy Information Administration:

China’s coal use grew by 325 million tons in 2011, accounting for 87% of the 374 million ton global increase in coal use. Of the 2.9 billion tons of global coal demand growth since 2000, China accounted for 2.3 billion tons (82%).

Robust coal demand growth in China is the result of a more than 200% increase in Chinese electric generation since 2000, fueled primarily by coal. China’s coal demand growth averaged 9% per year from 2000 to 2010, more than double the global growth rate of 4% and significantly higher than global growth excluding China, which averaged only 1%.



Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics.





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