(Photo of coal stored in Beijing power plant from Flickr and photographer kafka4prez/JJ W)
News Update 1: China emitted 14% more carbon dioxide last year that the U.S., according to a Dutch report published last week. China, which passed up the U.S. in 2006, saw its emissions rise 8% year over year, while those in the U.S. grew 1.8%. China’s emissions came mostly from burning of fossil fuels coal, oil and natural gas; its electricity is 80% coal-fired. China was responsible for 24% of new CO2 emissions, compared with 21% from the U.S., 12% from the EU’s 15 oldest countries, 8% from India and 6% from Russia. The U.S. still ranks highest in per-capita emissions however – with the typical American's carbon footprint 19.4 metric tons. Russia is next with 11.8 tons, followed by the EU 8.6, China 5.1 and India 1.8. The study did not include carbon emissions from deforestation. (Source: Greenwire)
2 comments:
These are astounding figures. I'm wondering why China doesn't get as much bad press on their emissions compared to other countries like the U.S.
My guess would be that per capita emissions are still significantly below per capita emissions in the U.S. I'm curious about how they would be different.
Great blogging!
Thanks,Jim. Yes, American per-capita emissions are 4 times those of China. But China is a moving target because its growth is so rapid and it is so dependent on coal. More about China in my post coming up Sunday. It's clearly the 800 pound gorilla in the room when it comes to global warming.
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