Delhi bigger gas chamber than Beijing; China cuts down but India will use even more dirty fuel
As the national capital chokes with ‘severe level’ of pollution, India is estimated to become the largest growing consumer of energy — mainly the dirty fuel, while China is going to make a significant cut in the next twenty years.
The sight of New Delhi was scary on Wednesday when the city choked under a thick grey blanket of smog with ‘severe’ levels of pollution, forcing people to wear masks, government to shut down schools and medical body to declare it a public health “emergency”. The situation is likely to become scarier in future as India is estimated to become the largest growing consumer of energy — mainly dirty fuel — leaving China behind. In the next twenty years!
India will require more additional energy to fuel its growing demand between today and 2040, leaving China behind and the reason is that India’s neighbour is going to take significant efforts to cut down its energy demand, mainly on dirty fuel, in the wake of its domestic pollution problems, World Oil Outlook 2040 report by OPEC showed. “This change in the leading position is primarily the result of the downward revisions made for China… rather than a more positive outlook for India,” the report said.
“India and China are the two nations with the largest additional energy demand over the forecast period. However, that for the first time recent projections see India as the single largest contributor to future energy demand, followed by China and other countries,” the report said.
The downward revision in China’s energy consumption will be triggered by its country’s effort to reduce pollution. “Recent signals and specific actions being undertaken by China – such as the closure of several inefficient coal power plants, the cancellation of plans to build new power plants and the rapid expansion of renewable energy sources – have raised the credibility of government endeavours to combat domestic pollution problems, contribute to efforts to reduce global emissions,” the report added.
The share of India’s energy demand is estimated to increase from around 6% in 2014 to almost 11% in 2040, registering the largest gain in overall share. The report further mentioned that both China and India are putting efforts to move forward with fuel efficiencies, China’s downward revision would be significant, while India’s consumption demand will continue to go up. “China and India, continue to move forward with fuel efficiencies and vehicle electrification plans,” the report said adding that India’s energy mix is dominated by coal, which has a 45% share followed by oil with 24% share.
There would be a slowdown in China’s coal demand due to a combination of slower economic growth and a shift away from energy-intensive industries, but also due to environmental policies aimed at reducing air pollution and CO2 emissions, the report said. However, Despite the highest growth in energy demand being in India, China is projected to retain the largest share of global energy demand, on a country basis, with around 23% over the entire period.
Source: financialexpress
