China’s Perspective: From Clean Energy to Powering Future Prosperity

China's historical economic growth, driven by a six-fold increase in coal consumption, is now constrained by high import dependence on oil and gas, dwindling coal reserves, and severe environmental costs including carbon emissions that account for one-third of the global total.

• China's historical economic growth from 1978 to the early 2010s was closely linked to a massive increase in fossil fuel use, with coal consumption rising six-fold and coal production and oil use both increasing five-fold.
• Energy security is compromised by high reliance on imports, with oil import dependence exceeding 70% since the mid-2010s and approximately 40% of gas being imported.
• Domestic coal reserves are facing depletion; with 208 billion tonnes of proved reserves at the end of 2021 and annual consumption reaching 4.9 billion tonnes in 2024, reserves may only last 30 to 40 years at current usage rates.
• The environmental impact of the fossil fuel model is significant, with carbon emissions doubling in just under two decades to represent one-third of the global total.

APA

Ember (2025). China’s Perspective: From Clean Energy to Powering Future Prosperity. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/chinas-perspective-from-clean-energy-to-powering-future-prosperity/

Chicago

Ember. China’s Perspective: From Clean Energy to Powering Future Prosperity. 2025. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/chinas-perspective-from-clean-energy-to-powering-future-prosperity/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=China’s Perspective: From Clean Energy to Powering Future Prosperity |date=9 September 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/chapter/chinas-perspective-from-clean-energy-to-powering-future-prosperity/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2025chinas, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{China’s Perspective: From Clean Energy to Powering Future Prosperity}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = sep, url = {https://ember-energy.org/chapter/chinas-perspective-from-clean-energy-to-powering-future-prosperity/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }