cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/55394990
- China’s annual emissions have risen by 8.8 billion metric tons since 2000, accounting for roughly 62% of the entire global increase.
- China’s national emissions are now about 2.5 times higher than the U.S., even though its per capita emissions remain lower.
- Despite record solar and wind installations, China still burns more than half the world’s coal, and coal-fired power is rising again.
China’s per capita emissions remain below those of the United States. The U.S. and Europe have contributed more cumulative carbon dioxide to the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution. China has installed more wind and solar capacity than any other country.
All of those statements are true.
[…]
But none of those facts erase the central point: China’s total carbon emissions have risen dramatically, and that rise has been the largest single contributor to the increase in global emissions this century.
[…]
China’s annual emissions are now roughly two and a half times those of the United States. That is not a minor difference. It makes China the world’s largest annual emitter by a wide margin.
The trend is even more important. According to the Statistical Review of World Energy, global annual carbon dioxide emissions have risen by about 14 billion metric tons this century. China’s annual emissions have risen by about 8.8 billion metric tons over that same period. That means China accounts for roughly 62% of the global increase.
[…]
The renewable energy point also needs nuance.
[…]
China is not yet replacing fossil fuels fast enough to prevent emissions growth […] It is building renewables, but it is also responsible for over 50% of the world’s coal consumption. It is electrifying transportation, but it is also expanding industrial output. It is adding clean energy, but total energy demand has grown so quickly that renewables have not been able to fully offset fossil fuel growth.
That is the key point. The emissions outcome depends not only on how much renewable energy a country installs, but also on how fast total energy demand grows.
[…]
Any serious climate discussion has to hold those facts at the same time.
If the question is cumulative responsibility, the U.S. and Europe carry a large burden. If the question is per capita emissions, the U.S. still looks bad. If the question is renewable deployment, China looks impressive.
But if the question is why annual global carbon dioxide emissions have risen so rapidly this century, China is the biggest part of the answer.
That is not a myth. It is what the data show.
China is behind also in its ‘fair share’ contribution. Such arguments are what China’s propaganda outlets spread all the time, but it is not true.
This is incorrect. The country responsible for half of global production should probably be producing half of all emissions. It’s not. So…
Ah yes, famously pro-China propaganda outlets like the BBC.
The country is also behind its fair share contribution. Even the Chinese government admits this.
It helps if you read the linked article instead of repeating always the same propaganda narratives. Such a conversation is waste of time.
Links please?
I provided the link already above, but here again.
Also, it’s easy to find the information from alternative sources.
Are you American? Like seriously you’re at their reading comprehension level.
The “Fair Share” contribution they’re behind is not literally their proportional fair share. It is the Fair Share agreed upon in the Paris Agreement, which was poorly calculated at the time and didn’t take into account just how fast China was able to improve living standards. That is what the evil Chinese Communist Satanist propaganda says they’re behind on.
It also didn’t take into account that companies would accelerate industry outsourcing to the point of crippling their home countries’ economies, or that the governments of those countries would help cripple said economy.
edit: Holy shit your entire account, your entire existence on Lemmy is anti-chinese propaganda. I knew the US was investing heavily lately into this shit but I really hope the paycheck is worth it.
Their name and way of speaking suggests they’re German.
Germans are usually smarter, except when it comes to anything Eastern Europe. I mean AfD has been incredibly popular lately despite German’s higher than average education but I’d still expect anyone that matriculated to Lemmy and is in Germany would be slightly better as a human.