As its domestic fuel supplies begin to fall short, China will seek to import more oil and coal as an interim measure. It’s already moving to tie up available supplies. This will place greater demands on global oil and coal reserves, driving up prices and sparking new drilling and mining ventures.
However, because China’s population is demanding cleaner air, the country won’t slow its conversion to renewable power sources. Spikes in demand from China’s appetite for foreign oil and coal will not signal a return to a fossil-fueled global-energy economy, but only a short-term spike.
