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China to Double Its Emissions by 2030

A new report follows the trends of the country's carbon emissions

Oct 23, 2008 07:35 GMT  ·  By
Nuclear power could be a viable alternative to fossil fuel, but China will still rely on oil and coal over the next few decades
   Nuclear power could be a viable alternative to fossil fuel, but China will still rely on oil and coal over the next few decades

A new report on greenhouse gas emissions recently came from China, a highly-unusual event, considering the fact that the country is "sealed" to outside investigations and that the last report it published on the matter dates back more than a decade ago. The survey says that the nation will double its carbon emissions by 2030 if the current development path is followed through.

 

However, the paper says that China's hard-won economic independence will not be jeopardized by carbon caps. The good news is that even Chinese scientists recognize the necessity of developing and implementing measures aimed at slowly reducing the country's massive carbon emissions. Its heavy reliance on fossil fuels made China build tens, if not hundreds, of brand-new coal-powered electrical plants along with the Great Coal Belt in the north.

 

The report also states that the country's emissions could reach as much as 10 billion tons by 2020. The numbers could vary between small margins, as technologies to clean the atmosphere, such as carbon-traps, could become readily available for the developing nation. Nonetheless, by 2030, the survey predicts that the levels of carbon emissions China puts out could be anywhere between 11 and 15 billion metric tons. To put things into perspective, the entire world emitted around 31 billion tones in 2007.

 

Unfortunately, the nation, which is part of the developing countries group, says that the largest responsibility for the current status of the environment lies with the most developed countries. Indeed, considering the centuries of carbon emissions put out by now-rich nations, developing countries have only begun to scratch the surface. The communist regime in Beijing says that no targets for the country's development will be sacrificed to impose carbon limitations, and the report further strengthens that statement.

 

India, China and Brazil are just some of the developing countries that contribute with large emissions to the pollution of the environment. And while rich countries have the means to reduce their emissions and can also afford it, the strain that such measures will place on their economies may simply prove too great. It remains to be seen whether the international community will have a say in the matter or not.