World energy outlook in 2020 focusing on China's energy impacts on the world and Northeast Asia

This paper presents a consistent international energy projection developed by an integrated econometric model for the purpose of analysing China's energy impacts on the energy markets in the world and Northeast Asia to 2020. Vigorous economic growth, soaring electricity demand and progressive motorisation are going to expand the primary energy demand in China, which accounts for a large part of the world primary energy increase, eventually positioning China as an important player in the world energy market and in terms of CO2 emissions. Focusing on Northeast Asia, considerable oil demand growth in China, which has only a limited oil production, would increase the regional reliance on Middle Eastern oil, thereby underlining a serious energy security problem of oil importing countries in this region. It is becoming increasingly important for the energy issue to be addressed as one where all Northeast Asian countries have a common stake and can commit themselves.