China, whose 1.34 billion population is over four times that of the United States’, recently passed the US as the country with the highest energy demand. A portion of this is due to the economic recession hitting the US harder than most other countries. As American CO2e emissions have experienced the largest drop since recording started in the 1950’s, demand for energy on a whole has decreased with economic hardship.
But even if US emissions and energy use begin to increase once the economy gets better, China is likely to hold onto its lead. This is because China’s average standard of living has improved by leaps and bounds.  Even though per capita energy demand and emissions are significantly less than other developed countries, the sheer magnitude of population increases – and growing percentage of the population who can access electricity and own cars – means that China will continue to have a huge impact on the energy market.
Luckily, the country is also one of the largest investors in alternative energy; China has some of the strictest regulations on technology standards and leads the world in wind turbine production.  Although China and almost every other country put economic stability before environmental protection, maybe China’s dedication to regulating GHG emissions as they improve technology can mitigate global warming, despite their climbing consumption of fossil fuels.