Carbon pollution from China’s active and dense coal economy last year exceeded that of the United States, the European Union and other developed countries combined, and accounted for 27 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
As the Chinese economy has grown over the past 30 years, so have emissions. While pollution from developed countries has been fairly stable since 1990, it has more than tripled in China. Due to the country’s high emissions and stable population, per capita emissions have increased rapidly. At 10.1 tons per capita, emissions are just below the average of 10.5 tons in the 37-country Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
According to the Rhodium Group, the United States continues to lead the world in terms of per capita emissions at 17.6 tons per capita, despite President Joe Biden’s pledge that the United States will cut emissions in half by 2030. Other industrialized countries All countries were included in the report. Current European Union 27. Member States: United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Chile, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.
The strict lockdowns imposed by China at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic have allowed the country’s economy to recover relatively quickly. As a result, rhodium per capita emissions in China are expected to exceed the OECD average in 2020.
In recent years, China’s rising carbon emissions have caught the attention of executives around the world. In 2018, the Communist Party lifted the ban on building new coal-fired power plants, and its policies have gotten more generous for years. Although China has installed large numbers of solar panels and wind turbines, fossil fuels still feed the vast majority of industries and transportation patterns. The electricity grid is particularly rich in carbon.Half of the world’s coal Burned within the borders of China.
China is denying its right to burn such large quantities of fossil fuels because developed countries have done the same for centuries. The country is not entirely wrong: advanced economies have caused the largest cumulative emissions since 1750 at around 1,000 gigatons. However, the rise of China means that it has rapidly become the largest contributor in recent years. According to A., the country released 52 megatons of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas equivalent in 2019. Message The Rhodium Group has released a total of 200 gigatons since 1750.
China’s argument has its merits, but it also ignores the fact that renewable resources such as wind and sun have not been available to a great extent as much as fossil fuels over the past 300 years. Half of the OECD’s cumulative carbon emissions were generated before 1980, when wind and solar power were more expensive compared to fossil fuels. Today, however, these numbers have been largely reversed. In the United States it is now Expensive Operating 80 percent of the country’s coal-fired power plants rather than shutting them down and building new wind farms and solar power plants.
In China, too, the prices for wind and solar energy are declining. it is expected that Undermining new coal-fired power plants This year after consulting Wood Mackenzie, who can manufacture 247 gigawatts of coal power Not only does the developing country look old, it is unnecessarily expensive. This could jeopardize China’s investments elsewhere. The country is the world’s largest financier and developer of coal-fired power plants. More than 100 gigawatts are being funded by Chinese companies.
China’s pledge to the Paris Agreement says it will peak in carbon pollution in 2030 and reach net zero after 30 years. These goals appear achievable, according to Follow up on climate protection measuresAn independent analyst, but the group says the targets are “very insufficient” to meet the 2 ° C temperature target set in the agreement.
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