Comparative Energy Consumption Structure and Mode between China and Major Energy-Consuming Countries Under the Background of Carbon Emission Reduction

Abstract

The top 23 countries with energy consumption accounting for 80% of the worldwide total in 2020 were selected as the research objects for this study. The energy consumption structure of these countries has been compared and studied from the proportion of clean energy in primary energy, the clean utilization rate of fossil energy, and the proportion of electric energy in terminal energy consumption, and the characteristics of energy consumption intensity were also analyzed based on the energy consumption per unit GDP, capital, and unit land area. The energy consumption patterns of various countries in social-economic operation, production, and life were also discussed, combined with the characteristics of industrial structure and subsector energy consumption. The concept of natural carbon sink load ratio of energy consumption was put forward, and the advantages and challenges of energy consumption mode transformation under carbon peak and carbon neutralization goals in China were identified and analyzed. The results showed that:the proportion of clean energy in primary energy, the proportion of energy consumption for power generation, the clean utilization rate of fossil energy, and the proportion of electric energy in terminal energy consumption in China were 15.90%, 53.48%, 37.51%, and 26.54%,respectively,all of which were in the forefront among the major energy-consuming countries in the world. China has built a favorable structural foundation for energy-intensive and clean utilization and formed a green and low-carbon energy consumption model; the proportion of non-industrial and agricultural energy consumption, especially that of transportation energy consumption, were both the lowest among major energy-consuming countries, and there is still much room for improvement in overall energy productivity based on the optimization of industrial structure. However, the relatively short carbon peak and neutralization target period poses a great challenge to the development speed and scale of clean energy to China, and the international situation under the constraint of carbon emission also increases the difficulty for China to achieve the carbon reduction goal by optimizing and adjusting the industrial structure.