Non-fossil fuels will account for 30 percent of China's energy
consumption in 2050, compared with the current 10 percent, the
China Securities Journal declared on Tuesday.
The whole world is conscious of the need to reduce emissions
from fossil fuels and to develop carbon-constraining
technologies.
Fossil fuels, also known as mineral fuels, are
hydrocarbon-containing natural resources such as coal, petroleum
and natural gas. Coal is considered to be the cheapest and dirtiest
source of energy in the world.
Even though China's per capita greenhouse gas emissions are
lower than countries like the United States or Australia, its heavy
reliance on coal makes it a major polluter and a major contributor
to the emissions that cause climate change.
By 2050, about 40 percent of China's energy consumption will
still come from the burning of coal, compared with the current 70
percent, the report quoted Yan Luguang, a member of the Chinese
Academy of Sciences, as saying.
Oil consumption would contribute around 20 percent of the total
and reach 800 million tons in 2050, 75 percent of which would be
imported from foreign countries, said Yan.
As China's energy demands continue to grow, a sufficient oil
supply is critical to the country's energy security, said Yan.
The demand for natural gas, hydropower and nuclear power will
grow in the coming years and by 2050 solar energy, wind energy and
biomass energy will account for 15 percent of the nation's total
energy consumption, said Yan.
(Xinhua News Agency May 29, 2007)
