China surpasses US as world’s top energy consumer

CHINA yesterday disputed that it had surpassed the United States last year to become the world’s largest energy user, and defended its efforts in boosting cleaner energy sources.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates China last year consumed 2.265 billion tonnes of oil equivalent in energy from sources including coal, oil, natural gas, hydro and nuclear power, 4.4% more than the US.

But Zhou Xian, spokes- person for China’s National Energy Administration (NEA), said the IEA’s estimate of China’s energy consumption was too high. He said: “[It] could be used as a reference but is not very credible.”