Climate change in China

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Climate change in China is a contentious issue since it is not required to be a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol yet it is responsible for one of the highest levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

The People's Republic of China is an active participant in the climate change talks and other multilateral environmental negotiations, and claims to take environmental challenges seriously but is pushing for the developed world to help developing countries to a greater extent. It is a signatory to the Basel Convention governing the transport and disposal of hazardous waste and the Montreal Protocol for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, as well as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and the Kyoto Protocol, although China is not required to reduce its carbon emissions under the terms of the present agreement. On June 19, 2007, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency announced, on the basis of an analysis of fossil fuel consumption (including especially the coal power plants [1]) and cement production data, that China surpassed the United States as the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, putting out 6,200 million tons, in comparison with America's 5,800 million.[2]

China can suffer some of the effects of global warming, including sea level rise, glacier retreat and air pollution.

Climate change mitigation

Main article: Debate over China's economic responsibilities for climate change mitigation

Both internationally and within the People's Republic of China, there has been an ongoing debate over China's responsibilities, particularly since 2006, when China surpassed the US as the country with the highest emissions rate for the main atmospheric gas in global warming, carbon dioxide (CO2) [3]

Premier Wen Jiabao has promised to use an “iron hand” in the 2010 summer to make his nation more energy efficient. China has surpassed the rest of the world as the biggest investor in wind turbines and other renewable energy technology. And it has dictated tough new energy standards for lighting and gas kilometrage for cars.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Coal power plants in China Map +oil use
  2. ^ "China now no. 1 in CO2 emissions; USA in second position". Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. 2007-06-19.
  3. ^ China now no. 1 in CO2 emissions; USA in second position.
  4. ^ Bradsher, Keith (July 4, 2010). "China Fears Warming Effects of Consumer Wants". The New York Times.

External links


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