Tuesday 11 May 2021

China’s emissions in 2019 ‘surpassed those from all developed countries combined’

China's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2019 exceeded the emissions of all developed countries combined.

A new report by the independent research provider Rhodium Group estimates GHG emissions from all members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), as well as all 27 EU member states, reached 14,057 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

The figure is around 36 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent short of China's total.

China’s per capita emissions reached 10.1 tonnes, nearly tripling over the past two decades, the authors of the report claim.

The report claims in 2019, China’s GHG emissions passed the 14 gigatonne threshold for the first time, reaching 14,093 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent - this represents a more than tripling of 1990 levels.

This rise in emissions saw China alone contributing more than 27% of total global emissions.

The analysis also suggests the US is the world's second-largest emitter, at 11% of the global total.

The report authors expect China's net GHG emissions to further increase by 1.7% in 2020 as a result of increased economic activities even during the Covid-19 pandemic.