Chinarsquo;s stronger-than-expected GDP growth of 7.9 percent in the second quarter has made some market pundits skeptical of the China story. They claim that the ruling party has ldquo;massagedrdquo; the data in order to project stability. The most widely cited negative point has been the 3.35 percent annual decline in electrical power generation during the first half of 2009. However, we believe the decline in power usage is a response to Chinarsquo;s nationwide efforts to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the countryrsquo;s power plants and factories. The original goal from five years ago was to cut energy intensity by 20 percent by 2010 so a decline was expected. The negative correlation between energy intensity and GDP growth isnrsquo;t a new one either. Last year, China experienced 9 percent GDP growth while reducing the countryrsquo;s per capita energy intensity by 5 percent. In addition, other recent data points suggest economic activity ...

Countries that require less energy per unit of GDP may fare better during a period of high energy prices.

This table shows the Kg of oil equivalent consumed per unit of GDP on a purchasing power parity basis for 32 countries, as reported by the United Nations.

This data is not a measure of energy use efficiency, because it does not distinguish between countries with high energy intensity industries (such as steel making) versus those with low energy intensity industries (such as software).

The data also does not indicate how much margin exists to be more efficient if necessary.

Interesting observations, include that the United States and China have similar energy consumption per unit of GDP, although the US figures probably include a much higher personal energy use component as part of the overall energy use.

Also, India uses only about 82% as much energy per unit …