Trends in energy use and production in the BRICs

Overview

The BRICs fall into two distinct groups regarding domestic energy use. China and India display a growing dependency on imported energy, predominantly oil but also coal in India’s case (details here). By contrast Brazil is largely self-sufficient in energy and Russia is a leading energy exporter.

The energy-efficiency picture tells a different story. China and Russia show a high level of energy consumption per unit of GDP while GDP growth in India and Brazil is less...