14 DAY TRIAL // A report released just yesterday indicates that, whereas the US and most of the European countries are gradually bringing down the amounts of harmful emissions they release into the environment, China, India and Russia are taking a turn for the worse.
To put it bluntly: they are well on the way of becoming top polluters.
Such studies, which usually go by the name of “Trends in global CO2 emissions” are carried out on a yearly basis.
The one released just now comes as a result of a collaboration between PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre.
In order to pin down the main culprits in terms of environmental pollution, the scientists and analysts working on this report put together data regarding overall atmospheric pollution – taken from the Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research – and information on industrial activities worldwide.
Eventually, they reached the conclusion that, although the US and several EU countries are still major polluters, China's CO2 emissions are rapidly catching up to their American and European counterparts.
As explained on PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency's website, China's rapid economic growth is the one to be held responsible for the fact that this country's ecological footprint has increased to such an extent.
Apparently, the expansion of urban areas in this part of the world is the first to blame for the use of significantly more fuel than in the previous years.
Official figures state that domestic coal consumption in China increased by as much as 9.7%.
The good news is that, in spite of the ever-increasing demand for coal-based power, the people in the afore-mentioned countries also seem to be finally acquiring a taste for renewable energy.
By this we mean that more and more households and companies are looking into the possibility of choosing solar or wind energy over more traditional yet not so environmentally friendly power sources.
Hopefully, this indicates that sooner or later human society will turn towards a greener lifestyle.