China overtook the US to become the world’s largest consumer of energy in 2009, the Financial Times reported, citing the International Energy Agency (IEA). China’s assumption of first place is largely due to improvements in energy efficiency in the US and to the comparatively mild impact the global financial crisis had on Chinese industry. The country’s energy consumption level has gone from half that of the US in 2000 to exceeding it by 4% in 2009. During that time, the US improved energy efficiency by 2.5% per year, while China improved efficiency by 1.7% per year. The IEA warned that China’s new dominance will increasingly influence global energy consumption patterns. China has yet to join the IEA, which represents the OECD’s largest energy consumers.
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