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Analysts see promising signs in the global greenhouse gas emitter.
By Max Bearak
China, the world’s largest source of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming over the past two decades, is about to bend its emissions curve, after years of strong growth, to turn it into a flat plateau.
The consequences for climate change will hardly be greater. Since China’s emissions surpassed those of the United States in 2006, China’s global share has grown to almost a third—a huge figure, even taking into account demographic differences.
A recent spate of data from the Chinese government, as well as reports from energy sector analysts, have provided positive signs that while China’s emissions will likely not reduce significantly, they will not increase either. Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to succeed in this. milestone until 2030.
“The takeaway is that when China’s emissions prevent growth, the world’s emissions probably also impede development,” said Dave Jones, director of global insight at Ember, an energy think tank.
Most important in this change are adjustments to the way China produces its electricity. In short, renewable resources update coal, the most polluting fossil energy.
Last year alone, China installed more solar panels than the United States in its entire history, and connected the maximum of them to its electrical grid.
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