北京工商大学毕业论文（设计） economies like China face great pressures in an increasingly uncertain global economic setting.
China‘s existing model of development is therefore not sustainable. Current growth rates in energy consumption will lead China to be increasingly dependent on imports of coal, as well as increasingly dependent on imports of oil and gas with higher world prices. In 2006, China‘s GDP accounted for 5.5% of the world total; its energy, steel and cement consumption respectively accounted for 15%, 30% and 54%. Climate change already threatens to reduce crop yields through water-stress and extreme weather, and if it goes unmitigated climate change will severely impede China‘s development.
Globalization has not only led to an international redistribution of industrial production; it has also meant a redistribution of energy and resource consumption, and hence, emissions. According to the World Energy Outlook 2007: China and India Insights, the amount of energy ?re-exported‘ by China in 2004 was 400 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe), amounting to 25% of the country‘s energy consumption. The amount of energy embodied in the commodities China imported that year was 171 Mtoe, amounting to 10% of energy demand. The proportion of energy embodied in the commodities China exports is much higher than that for other countries (for the US, the EU and Japan, the figures are 6%, 7% and 10% respectively). This high proportion exacerbates the rise of China‘s carbon dioxide emissions. International economic structures and trade rules are changing in response to energy and resource constraints, as well as in response to financial instability caused by unsustainable trade flow imbalances. While a global move to a low carbon economy places pressures on China‘s development, it also rings great opportunities for future growth. A move towards a low carbon economy can address the challenges outlined above, and realise the long term goal of sustainable growth.
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