Increasing impacts of China's oil and gas demands on global CH₄ emissions

The energy sector stands out as a main contributor to increasing global methane (CH₄) emissions. Given China's heavy dependence on energy imports, a closer examination of its oil and gas-related CH₄ emissions becomes imperative. This study conducts an in-depth analysis of China's contribution to global CH₄ emissions stemming from its consumption of crude oil and natural gas since 2000. The results indicate that CH₄ emissions from crude oil and natural gas imports rose from 614 Gg in 2000 to 7692 Gg in 2019. When considering domestic production, the demand-induced CH₄ emissions in 2019 increased to approximately 10754 Gg (equivalent to 320 Mt CO₂-eq and 887 Mt CO₂-eq based on global warming potential (GWP) values at the 100-year and 20-year time period), of which 72 % were related to crude oil and natural gas imports. The primary contributor to this increase in CH₄ emissions was the expansion of the trade scale. The growth trend of crude oil imports-induced CH₄ emissions was also positively influenced by emission intensity and trade structure, but these two drivers had a negative impact on the growth of natural gas imports-induced CH₄ emissions. The virtual transfer of CH₄ emissions via international oil and gas trade requires urgent policy attention. In collaboration with its trading partners, China should take aggressive actions to achieve meaningful mitigation in CH₄ emissions associated with the oil and gas trade.