As of 2009, China is the second largest consumer of oil in the world behind the United States and is the second largest importer of oil in the world7. Although China consumes a lot of oil, its coal consumption is even greater. China has the largest coal reserves in the world and happens to be the largest producer and consumer of coal in the world; China's coal consumption accounts for 46% of the world's coal consumption. .
Most of China's electricity generation comes from fossil fuel sources, such as coal which meets 70% of China's energy needs. However, as Aochao Wang, head of China research at UOB-Kay Hian Ltd., said, "The increased use of coal constrains the nation's efforts in improving energy efficiency."" That's because according to Keith Allott, head of WWF-UK's climate change program, "Coal is an extremely dirty source of power, and imposes huge costs on people's health, the environment and the economy." The combustion of coal releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are the causes for the global climate change that we are experiencing. It is also a source of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides which are responsible for acid rain and are harmful for human health. In 2006, China added over 90 gigawatts of new coal-fired power plants and they added about 500 million tons of carbon dioxide to China's annual emissions. .
China's vast coal use has contributed to its 9.9% increase in total emissions in 2011 while the United States' figure decreased by 1.8% and the European Union's decreased by 2.8%. The total carbon dioxide emissions per capita of the Chinese has also grown by 9% in 2011, reaching 6.6 tons which is comparable to that of the European Union's 7.3 tons, but is still much lower than the United States' 17.2 tons. The most recent analysis done by the Global Carbon Project was published earlier this month and showed that China was the leader in global carbon emissions and accounted for 28% of global carbon emissions in 2011.