China relies on coal for 70% of power needs

It already uses more coal than the rest of the world combined.

China's consumption of coal rose 9% in 2011 to 3.8 billion tons, said the U.S. Energy Information Administration. China has accounted for 82% of the world's coal demand growth since 2000 and relies on coal for over 70% of its power.

EIA said that China’s efforts to limit its reliance on coal are better than nothing but it won't dramatically change the picture. It noted that the efficiency of China's coal generation improved 16% in a decade and that it is building super critical plants that are among the most efficient in the world.

A report by the World Resources Institute in November 2012 said that of 1,000 new coal-fired power plants planned worldwide, 363 are in China.

In 2007, China overtook the United States as the world's biggest carbon emitter and became the world's biggest consumer of energy in 2010.