China Energy Outlook 2020 - Flipbook - Page 23
Figure 1-5. Electricity Consumption per Capita, Selected Regions and Countries (2018)
Source: IEA, 2019c. Based on WEO2019 data. All rights reserved.
China’s primary energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP), also referred to
as economic energy intensity, dropped on average 4.5% per year from 1980 to 2002 (Figure 16). Government policies and programs implemented during this period focused on strict
oversight of industrial energy use, provision of financial incentives for energy-efficiency
investments, provision of information and other energy-efficiency services through over 200
energy conservation service centers spread throughout China, energy-efficiency education and
training, and research, development, and demonstration programs (Sinton et al., 1998; Sinton
et al., 1999; Sinton and Fridley, 2000; Wang et al., 1995).
The period 2002-2005 saw a dramatic reversal of the historic relationship between energy use
and GDP growth for a variety of reasons, including China’s entry into the World Trade
Organization (WTO), rapid urbanization, and the reduction in government attention to energy
efficiency during the 1990s. As a result, energy use per unit of GDP increased an average of
4.7% per year over these three years, and total energy use grew from 1,619 Mtce to 2,508 Mtce
during this period.
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