Did you think that the emergence of green cars means that our reliance on oil is starting to fall? New statistics from the Vital Signs Online report by the Worldwatch Institute suggest this is far from the case.
Despite falling 1.5 per cent between 2008 and 2009, in part due to the global financial crisis, global oil consumption recovered by 3.1 per cent in 2010 – and hit an all-time high of 87.4million barrels per day.
Part of the reason for the growth was the emergence ofChina, which now uses more than 10 per cent of the world’s oil. The USA, Brazil, Russia and the Middle East accounted for an additional 48 per cent of the increase; while consumption in the European Union actually fell for the fourth consecutive year – by 1.1 per cent.
Other findings from the report include:
- Oil consumption in countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was seven per cent lower in 2010 than in 2005.
- Oil is the largest source of primary energy use worldwide, even though its share fell to 37 per cent.
- Political unrest in the Middle East-North Africa region, and uncertainty about new regulations in deepwater offshore oil drilling, contributed to further volatility in the marketplace.
