Given that it is considered to be the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, the pressure is on China, both externally and internally, to cut carbon emissions and clean up its urban air quality, as well as reduce land and river pollution. But a new report suggests that China is not entirely to blame for the situation.
One quarter of China's carbon emissions are from making goods for
export to the already industrialised nations - that's the equivalent of
double the UK's emissions for the same year - according to a new study
by Tao Wang and Jim Watson from Sussex University in the latest Tyndall
Centre for Climate Change Research Briefing Note.
The research covers an initial assessment of the emissions from the
goods and services that China exports and concludes that in 2004 – the
latest full year of data – net exports accounted for 23 per cent of its
total CO2 emissions. This is due to China's trade surplus and the
relatively high level of carbon intensity within the Chinese economy.
Drawing on the results of the workshop, the project will: develop and
apply a limited set of scenarios that explore a range of future
pathways for Chinese carbon emissions. These will reflect different
stabilisation targets, apportionment regimes (e.g. contraction and
convergence or equalisation of emissions per unit of GDP), and sectoral
trends. To aid the necessary data gathering and analysis, the research
will draw on official Chinese data and build on collaborations with
Chinese institutions – principally the Chinese government Energy
Research Institute.
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