Asia dominates primary energy consumption

The runner-up is way behind.

Based on research at which region consumes how much primary energy, it was found out that Asia-Pacific dominates.

According to a report from Macquarie Research, with 41%

of global energy consumed within the region in 2013, it is the largest consuming regional by far.

For its report, Macquarie Research noted that when it talks of ‘energy’ it is referring to primary energy, which it says is energy that must be easily usable.

It boils down to two groups; 1) the fossil fuels oil, gas and coal, all of which can be burnt directly for heat and cooking or easily converted into electricity and, 2) uranium, water (i.e. hydro) and renewables (wind, solar, biomass, geothermal) which all require major efforts to convert them into a usable form, i.e. electricity.

Following Asia-Pacific is North America, which is way behind with 22%.

The report said that looking at the top ten energy consuming countries, Asia’s dominance starts to be explained, noting that China is the most energy-hungry nation on the planet and is joined in the top ten global consumers by fellow Asian nations India, Japan and South Korea.

The difference between the major consumers and the rest is stark, the report said: of the world’s countries, the largest ten consumers account for 2/3 of all global energy consumption.