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Introduction
The world today is driven by a global economy that is based on demand and supply of goods and services. The situation has pushed manufacturers and producers of goods and services to work extra hard to satisfy the demands of the global economy. The manufacture of goods requires several inputs, which contribute to the goods coming out as final products for consumption by end users of the production chain.
Production of goods and services has become the main driving force of many economic giants on the global stage, which export their goods and services to other nations that need them. Such giants include China. Production of goods and services in China is fully dependent on energy to run the heavy machinery in various industries.
China is the most populous country in the world with an average population of approximately 1.3billion people (Index Mundi). The size of China as a country is approximately 9million square kilometres with a population density of approximately 140 people per square kilometre.
China is the second largest economy in the world behind the United States of America. It was able to record a GDP of $8.28 trillion in the year 2012, which is a representation of about 12% of the world economy. This was at a growth rate of about 7.8% per annum.
A concise synopsis of China Vs the US production and consumption of energy
China and the US have become the largest consumer of energy in the world due to the demand for energy for its industry as well as for domestic use. The need for a lot of energy has driven China to use all possible means to produce it. So far, the available means for energy production are not environment friendly due to the amount of pollution they cause in the surroundings.
China’s major source of energy is fossil fuels, which are oil and coal. The high dependence of China on fossil fuel is due to the easiness with which the fuels can be used to produce energy. Fossil fuels are some of the cheapest and economically viable sources of energy and hence their popularity in China and the US.
Other forms of energy are limited in nature and thus the over reliant on fossil fuel by not only China, but also by many countries, which need to generate electricity. Therefore, the need for a lot of energy has compelled China to produce the same and to import where there is a need.
Production of energy using ‘not so clean’ methods has led to environmental pollution as well as degradation of the same. According to the EIA report (2012), China’s annual production of energy using different resources as well as its consumption has been recorded as follows:
Annual Production
The annual production of China’s energy comes from different energy sources, which are petroleum, coal, hydroelectricity, geothermal, natural gas, and nuclear energy among others.
For natural gas production, according to the year 2011 report on energy production, China recorded a total 3628 billion cubic ft of natural gas as having been produced by the country. Relative China, the US that produced 22902 billion cubic ft in the same year as shown in the graph below.
This realisation was an improvement from the previous years for both countries. China’s petroleum production has been recorded on different scales depending on the type and form of petroleum product, which can be categorised into various groups. For instance, the production of crude oil, which includes lease condensate, was recorded at over 4.05million barrels per day.
The production of crude oil and other liquids was recorded at 4.1million barrels per day while the production of other liquids from petroleum was recorded at 47,000 barrels per day. Petroleum production has been further divided into refined products. The refinery output of distillate fuel oil was recorded at 3.05 million barrels per day while the production of Jet fuel was recorded at 260,000barrels per day.
Moreover, the production of kerosene was recorded at 152000 barrels per day while the production of liquefied petroleum gas was recorded at 662000 barrels per day while that of motor gasoline was recorded at 1.7 million barrels per day. These among other products made up the refined productions as recorded for the year 2010 and 2011. Bio fuels have also been produced by China.
Their production was recorded as follows: Bio diesel was recorded at 78000 barrels per day, fuel ethanol was recorded at 39000 barrels per day, while the total bio fuel production was recorded at 48000 barrels per day. Geothermal production of electricity has been recorded at 0.162 billion kilowatt-hours in China in 2011. This amount is far too low compared to that of the US, which is 16.7 billion kilowatt-hours.
The production of hydroelectricity has been recorded at 687 billion kilowatts-hour. The production of different types of coal has been summed up into one figure in short tones as 11838158000 as per the year 2011’s production. This production as summed up makes up the main energy sources that are produced by China.
Energy Consumption by China Vs the US
China’s energy consumption comes from different energy sources, which are not restricted to what it produces. Stern finds that, due to China’s high affinity for energy, it has been forced to import some of its energy as well as energy sources (14). Over the years, China has produced lower amounts of petroleum in comparison to the United States.
For example, since 2000, the production of petroleum in the United States has been way above that of China. In fact, the graph above indicates that, even when the production of petroleum went down very much in 2006, the United States had 7323.03 thousand barrels per day, which were far above that of China at 3704.03 thousand barrels per day.
The implication of such big gaps in petroleum production can explain the reasons for the better performance of the United States in the World. America has excelled in industrialisation. Its economy relies so much on energy.
The big margins in economic performance in 2010 and 2011 can be explained by the fact that, when petroleum production in America rose from 8154 to 8624 barrels per day, China’s production was going down. For example, the graph indicates that, during the same period, China’s oil production dropped from 4121 to 4105 thousand barrels per day. This drop affected the performance of the economy of China.
The energy consumption is thus recorded as follows: China’s coal consumption has been dubbed as the highest in the world at about 3826868.9 thousand short tones. China is the global principal manufacturer and consumer of coal. Its expenditure takes virtually the entire coal manufactured in the globe.
According to the U.S Energy Information Administration report (EIA) of September 2012, coal has been noted as the major supplier for China’s energy accounting for over 70% of China’s energy needs. The report further states that the total energy consumption was recorded at 90 quadrillion British thermal units (btu).
In terms of petroleum consumption, China has been touted as the second largest consumer of petroleum behind the United States of America. From the above graph, in the year 2012, the United States of America produced 10028.03 thousand barrels of petroleum each day while China was the second in production at 4174.88 thousand barrels.
Being the second largest economy in the world after America, China was therefore dragging behind. It needed to import more energy to supplement its production. According to statistics by the Index Mundi, China’s consumption of crude oil was estimated at above 9.5 million barrels per day, which translate into an annual consumption of about 3467.5 million barrels per annum.
Inferring form the above graph, China imports much of its petroleum from other countries. The amount of petroleum produced domestically is therefore far below the levels of consumption. In fact, inducing from the graph, one realises that it is due to the differences in oil that the two economies vary in performance. The consumption of ethanol has been recorded as 38000 barrels per day as per the 2010 statistics.
The consumption of natural gas has been recorded at 38000 billion cubic feet per year. On the other hand, the expenditure of electricity has been recorded at 4.2 billion kwh per year while that of nuclear electric power has been recorded at 56 billion kwh per year. The utilisation of other electric power was recorded at 6 billion kwh per year.
Kerosene consumption was recorded at 18000 barrels per day while liquefied petroleum gas was recorded at 640000 barrels per day. Jet fuel use stood at 240000 barrels per day. Finally, the expenditure of motor gasoline was recorded at 1.4 million barrels per day while that of distillate fuel oils, which include fuels such as diesel, was recorded at 2.8 million barrels per year.
Imports
China was known for a long time to be an exporter of energy especially petroleum products to the international market. Nevertheless, since the demand for the same products increased domestically, it has become one of the largest importers of energy especially petroleum products and coal. This case can be explained by the fact that China’s industrial capacity was previously limited by its participation on the partial world market.
Gee, Songnin, and Xiaolin reveal how China could therefore not exploit its full production potential, as it had to sell the surplus energy and energy products that it produced (425). This situation however changed when its participation on the global market increased thus increasing its potential to consume its own energy and energy products.
The case led to a deficit also because the energy needs now exceed its production potential thus leading to the need to import some energy as well as energy products. The leading energy products that China imports, which it either leads in the world in its importation as well as consumption is coal and oil in the form of crude oil.
Although China uses different forms of energy across board, its importation of energy is limited to a few forms that are economically affordable for massive industrial use. The disadvantage that comes with such forms is that they contain a lot of carbon, which is the biggest pollutant.
According to Index Mundi, China imports the following forms of energy from different parts of the world: It imports dry natural gas – 580 billion cubic feet per year, coal – 200 million short tons per year, Jet fuel – 85000 barrels per day, kerosene – 56000 barrels per day, liquefied petroleum gas – 90000 barrels per day, and motor gasoline – 48000 barrels per day.
It also imports other petroleum products at 150000 barrels per day, residual fuel oil – 400000 barrels per day, and crude oil – 4.8 million barrels per day. The list above indicates that China solely imports fossil fuels, which are purely carbon-based.
Exports
China’s list of types of energy that it exports is not as diverse as the types of energies it imports and consumes. Thus, it can be assumed that it only exports energy that it finds to be surplus to its requirements. According to Medan, most of the energy exported by China is mostly fossil fuels, which are either in primary form, secondary form, or in tertiary form (593).
The exports vary with the types of energies exported with some breaks in some years. For instance, it exports crude oil at 100000 barrels per day, dry natural gas (141.9 billion cubic feet per year), and coal – 22658.08 thousand short tons per year. This number however is dropping year by year due to China’s increased affinity for coal use.
It also exports distillate fuel oils – 12000 barrels per day, kerosene – 113.6 thousand barrels per day, liquefied petroleum gas – 21.58 thousand barrels per day, and Motor gasoline at 47.53 thousand barrels per day. It exports other petroleum products at 91.68 thousand barrels per day while residual fuel oil exported stands at 133.51 thousand barrels per day.
The list indicates figures that have been are not consistent yearly because there have been some breaks in exporting of some of the energy products in the preceding years of the information provided. The list also provides the last recorded numbers for specific products exported but which are no longer in export now.
Reserves and Carbon dioxide Emissions of China Vs the US
China is a big country in terms of territorial size as well as population. It also qualifies as one country that are endowed with so many minerals underground. It is known to have some of the biggest coal reserves in the world as well as unexplored and unexploited petroleum reserves both inland and off shore. It has crude oil reserves that run to a tune of 20.4 billion barrels of proven oil reserves.
The figure is estimated of the year 2012 (EIA) indicating a 4 billion barrel increase from the estimated figures of the year 2009. The above numbers are for the proven oil reserves that are found within China’s territory.
However, there are more proven oil field reserves whose rights China has acquired from other countries across the world. According to Medan, it can be rightly assumed that China’s oil reserves are much higher than the 20 billion barrels proved to be within the Chinese territory (602).
China has some of the largest “proven gas reserves in the world, which run to the tune of 107 trillion cubic feet (tcf)” (U.S Energy Information Administration Para. 4). This amount is the second largest within the Asia Pacific region. China’s coal deposits can be dubbed as the third largest in the world behind those of the United States of America.
One can therefore deduce that, if China has the ability to exploit all its energy reserves accordingly, it can move close to performing as well as how the United States of America is doing or even perform better. America has been able to exploit much of its energy reserves and hence the high economic performance. China’s coal deposit reserves are estimated at 128 billion short tons, which account for 13% of the proven coal reserves in the world.
According to the 2008 United Nations statistics, China recorded carbon dioxide emissions to the tune of 7031916000 metric tons registering a steady annual increase in carbon dioxide emissions making it the single most world largest emitter of carbon dioxide. This emission can be linked to the high rate of industrial growth and development in China over the past few years.
However, carbon dioxide emission from industries in America has been relatively stable. In fact, the graph below indicates that the levels of carbon dioxide emission from the United States of America have been on the decline over the past ten years. In the year 2000, the level of emission was at 5863.26 million metric tons. However, by 2012, it had dropped to 8715.71 million metric tons.
This drop can be explained by the fact that America has been on the industrial production business for a longer period relative to China. There has also been a sharp rise in the number of environmental conservation organisations that advocate for environmental friendly sources of energy.
There has also been enactment of various statutes that regulate the amount of carbon dioxide that an industry is supposed to emit into the environment. Such legal guidelines may have played a big role in the reduction of carbon dioxide production by industries in the Unites States of America.
Contrary to what happens in the United States of America, there has been a sharp rise in carbon dioxide emission since 2000 in China.
In fact, the above graph indicates that the level of carbon dioxide emission rose from 3271.81million metric tonnes in 2000 to 8715.71 million metric tonnes in 2012 in China. The implication of such emission is high levels of environmental degradation. However, China has put in place mechanisms to reduce the levels of Carbon dioxide emissions.
Electricity
In terms of its total net generation, China has achieved its highest electricity generation at 645365000000 kwh as per the 2009 statistics. Such high levels of energy are a requirement for sustenance of the current high levels of industrial production in China.
This figure comes together with a 1073 gigawatt generation capacity as of 2011. In terms of imports and exports, China does not export electricity. Actuality, China uses all its domestically produced electricity within its domestic markets.
The United States of America of America exports much of its electric energy. For example, in 2000, it imported 48.59 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, which is way ahead of the total electricity that China imported that stood at 1.55 billion Kilowatts-hours. However, it is worth noting that the level of electric energy import by China has also been on the rise.
For example, her total imports have risen over the last ten years from 1.55 to 6.5 billion kilowatts in the year 2012. This has resulted from the concerted efforts by the government and the energy regulatory authority to increase the levels of energy to meet the energy demand by the industry. The United States of America had its least electricity import over the last ten years at 30.39 billion kilowatts hours in 2003.
One can thereof deduce that the level of domestic power production within the United States of America was high enough and hence the need for low electricity import. However, the low levels did not last for long. By the year 2008, the level of import had risen to 57.02 billion kilowatts hours.
Such a high level of electricity import would have been necessitated by the low levels of domestic electricity production. In addition, it may have been necessitated by the increasing levels of industrial energy that the country required.
Environmental effects of China’s Production and Use of Energy
China’s production and use of energy has had huge negative impacts on the environment in general leading to one of the highest environmental pollution cases in the world. The specific use of non-green energy such as fossil fuels is the biggest contributor of environmental degradation due to the high amount of carbon composition and carbon emission that follow their processing (Lanchberry 5).
The use of coal and petroleum products leads to high emissions of carbon dioxide, which when let out into the atmosphere lead to the expansion of the ozone layer, which again leads to global warming. Though the theory of the ozone layer is still disputable, it has been proven that carbon dioxide leads to global warming, which in turn has negative effects on the environmental as a whole.
Global warming contributes to thawing of glaciers, which in turn lead to flooding in different parts of the world. Gee, Songbin, and Xiaolin posit that too much emission of smoke into the atmosphere has led to the darkening of skylines in China causing the natural blue sky to be replaced by a black skyline (432). This case has led the country to experience acidic rains.
When elements such as coal are burnt to produce energy, they produce residues in terms of ashes, which also need to be disposed. The residues are not biodegradable. Thus, whenever they are disposed, they become an environment hazard.
Excavation of coal leads to scaring of the landscape that attracts huge craters on the surface of the earth, which affect the surface run off when it rains thus leaving behind unwanted dams full of water. Too much carbon in the air has led people in different regions of China to suffer from respiratory disorders and other opportunistic ailments caused by pollution of the environment.
Carbon emissions in the air leading to global warming have led to the alteration of the climatic conditions of different regions in China (Gee, Songbin, and Xiaolin 436). This case has distorted the agricultural calendar making it difficult for farmers to plan properly. Huge carbon deposits in the air have also affected crops thus leading to diminished yields.
The whole process of oil exploration, drilling, tapping, transporting, and processing is full of environmental hazards. Oil drilling has very negative environmental impacts especially when there is a case of the oil spilling on to the ground surface or in water. Whenever oil spills on the surface of the earth, it inhibits the life of both the flora and fauna killing them all in the process.
Every time oil pours, no life can be sustained for a long time until the surface dissolves it completely. Transportation of oil on both land and water has led to accidents that affect the environment negatively. Whenever oil tankers on Chinese roads are involved in accidents, they always lead to spilling of the fuel being transported thus posing environmental hazards.
Offshore exploitation of oil has led to oil spilling into the sea thus leading to destruction of delicate marine life and hence the extinction of some marine species. Stern finds that the use of nuclear energy is one of the biggest hazards due to the high risk of nuclear disasters (29).
Nuclear accidents expose radioactive elements to the environment, which are very difficult to clear. All forms of engines running on any form of fuel lead to hazardous depositing of carbon dioxide to the environment.
Recommendations
China’s energy is self-sufficient because it is one of the countries in the world with some of the biggest reserves in different forms. This claim is coupled with its ability to exploit and use its available energy for both domestic and industrial use. China’s energy is adequate because it is able to export some of the surplus energy it produces.
It has also developed plans to expand its energy capacities for future use as a long-term measure to its growing needs for energy. China should adopt more environment-friendly energy sources as a way of securing its environment. It should expand its hydroelectric power production capacity because it qualifies as one of the cleanest energy resources that have minimal if any negative environmental impacts.
It should also exploit its capabilities to develop other clean sources of energy such as wind and solar energy. Wind power, solar energy, and hydroelectric power generation have no negative effects on the environment as compared to fuels and nuclear powers, which are very hazardous.
Works Cited
Gee, Robert, Zhu Songbin, and Li Xiaolin. “China’s Power Sector: Global Economic and Environmental Implications.” Energy Law Journal 28.2 (2007): 421-441. Print.
Index Mundi. China’s Energy Production and Consumption, 2012. Web.
Lanchberry, John. “What to Expect from Kyoto.” Environment 39.9 (1997): 4-8. Print.
Medan, Michael. “Shaping China’s Energy Policy: Actors and Processes.” Journal of Contemporary China 18.61 (2009): 591-616. Print.
Stern, Nicholas. “Raising Consumption, Maintaining Growth and Reducing Emissions.” World Economics 12.4 (2011): 13-34. Print.
U.S Energy Information Administration. Report on China, 2012. Web.
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