Increase in India’s energy consumption nearly double global demand growth

April 02,2019

Primary demand for energy in India, which increased four percent last year, significantly exceeded modest growth of 2.3 percent seen worldwide, according to the latest report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

In 2018, energy consumption worldwide nearly doubled average rates that had been fixed since 2010. China, the US and India accounted for almost 70 percent of the increase in global energy demand, the agency said. The increased demand was reportedly driven by a global economy that expanded by 3.7 percent last year against 3.5 percent growth back in 2010.

The IEA added that CO2 emissions in India grew by 4.8 percent, or 35 million tons of oil equivalent, compared to the previous year. India’s emissions accounted for seven percent of the world’s CO2 burden. However, “despite this growth, per capita emissions in India remain low at only 40 percent of the global average,” the agency reports.

“China, India, and the US accounted for 85 percent of the net increase in emissions, while it declined for Germany, Japan, Mexico, France and the United Kingdom,” the IEA added.

Growth of energy consumption in India was reportedly propelled by wide usage of coal for power generation and oil for transport. Indian oil demand jumped five percent in 2018 against the previous year.

“The sharp increase in oil prices in 2018, amplified by currency deterioration, contributed to slowing growth in the second half of the year. Rapid industrialization and the fast pace of growth in vehicle fleets have caused severe air quality problems, and policies are being put in place to try to tackle the problem,” the report read.