The world is hoping the Chinese economy will continue to be the engine of global growth after growing by about 9 percent in 2011. This relentless economic expansion comes at a high price, and China finds itself well short of immediate solutions on how to rein in its vast energy consumption and, consequently, the environmental pollution that threatens its progress. In 2010 China＇s electricity consumption grew 13.7 percent, outstripping its GDP growth of 10.4 percent. It used 3.2 trillion tons of coal equivalent, or about 20 percent of the world＇s energy consumption, overtaking the US to become the world＇s largest energy consumer.
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