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China cuts oil imports as emissions fall 1% after Iran war shock
China reduced oil imports by 32% while overall transportation use rose, helping cushion global oil price swings after Hormuz-linked supply shocks.
China’s carbon dioxide emissions fell by 1% after the outbreak of the US Israeli war on Iran, with analysis pointing to reduced oil consumption and a steady rise in electric vehicles and public transport.
According to second quarter energy data reported by China’s National Bureau of Statistics and analyzed by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air for Carbon Brief, China was able to increase overall transportation use while cutting oil imports by 32%. The oil import drop, equivalent to about one million barrels a day, helped stabilize global oil prices, which still surged by about 60% in the weeks and months after the first US airstrikes in late February.
The analysis suggests about two thirds of the fall in imports came from drawing down, rather than increasing, strategic oil stockpiles, while the remaining third was largely tied to reduced demand.
China’s overall oil use fell by 9%, and by 16% for transport, even as journeys by electric cars, buses, trains, and trucks rose, while petrol and diesel vehicles were kept off the roads, the Guardian Business reported.