China’s greenhouse-gas output tops world total
China’s greenhouse-gas emissions in 2019 surpassed those of the United States and the developed world combined, according to an analysis published Thursday by the research firm Rhodium Group.
China’s share of global emissions rose to 27% of the world’s total, while the United States remained the second-largest emitter at 11%. India’s share was third at 6.6%, edging the 27 nations in the European Union, which account for 6.4%, the report found.
China, India and other developing nations have long noted that over the past century, the United States and Europe grew their economies while generating large amounts of greenhouse gases, and that requiring the developing world to clamp down on emissions as they industrialize and raise millions of people to the middle class is unfair.
But with the effects from climate change intensifying and pressure growing for countries to do more to hit the targets of the Paris climate accord, the developed world has sought to make China, India and other developing nations a central part of the global push to restrict emissions for the sake of the planet. Those emissions include six key gases, as well as changes resulting from deforestation and land use.
During a climate summit that President Joe Biden organized last month that included dozens of world leaders, Chinese President Xi Jinping said his nation would limit its coal-based emissions so they peak ahead of the 2030 target it had set earlier. Xi also reiterated a pledge that China would have net-zero emissions by 2060.
“This major strategic decision is made based on our sense of responsibility to build a community with a shared future for mankind and our own need to secure sustainable development,” Xi said at the time. “China has committed to move from carbon peak to carbon neutrality in a much shorter time span than what might take many developed countries, and that requires extraordinarily hard efforts.”
The Biden administration has made a concerted push to work with China on combating climate change, despite diplomatic clashes on numerous other issues.
White House climate envoy John Kerry traveled to China last month to meet with his counterparts and encourage the kind of partnership that helped make the Paris agreement a reality in 2015. After his visit, the United States and China released a statement vowing to work together on climate change “with the seriousness and urgency that it demands.”
Under the Paris accord, nations around the world pledged to limit global warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels and possibly keep to 1.5 degrees Celsius. So far, the world remains far from the trajectory needed to hit such targets.
“If we can all hold to 1.5 [Celsius], we’re setting a good example for a lot of other countries as they make choices,” Kerry told The Washington Post during a recent visit to India.
Meanwhile, China’s emissions reached 14.1 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalents in 2019, the Rhodium analysis calculated — more than triple 1990 levels and a 25% increase over the past decade.