Here's a seldom-discussed reason that the need for alternative energy sources is getting more and more urgent: China.
According to this article in The Standard, China's oil consumption is growing by leaps and bounds. All this at a time when sources of cheap oil are dwindling.
In the 1990s, global demand for oil was rising by about one million barrels per day every year. Today ``Chinese demand is now rising at that speed by itself,'' Xie said.
He cited three factors behind China's rising oil demand. First, the rapid rise in fixed investment. Fixed investment accounted for 43 per cent of China's GDP last year and is likely to account for 46 per cent of GDP in 2004.
Thus, nearly half of China's GDP is growing at an annual rate of above 20 per cent in real terms.
Second, car sales are surging. Sales reached 4.5 million in 2003, up 30 per cent over 2002. This has a leveraged impact on oil demand, said Xie.
Thirdly, China's electricity shortage is forcing manufacturers to switch to diesel generators from grid supply.
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