The Downside to China's Growth

China is no longer just the most populous country in the world. In recent years it has also become an economic superpower. China is now the second-largest economy in the world and the largest export nation on the planet. China's economic development comes with one caveat though: the country's energy demand is exploding. While energy-demand per capita is still much lower than it is in countries such as the United States, Germany or Japan, the total energy demand of China has already surpassed all those countries. Unfortunately China's primary source of energy is coal, a fuel that produces a lot of carbon dioxide during combustion. As a consequence, China is the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide and at the moment there is no sign of a significant reduction of carbon emissions in China.