http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/world/story.html?id=03deee37-4313-4843-b9c8-e37da56bab5f
CHINA TOPS U.S. AS NO. 1 POLLUTER
Calls for West to assist Beijing to find cleaner ways to deal with economic boom; The Daily Telegraph, with files from news services
Richard Spencer, National Post
Published: Thursday, June 21, 2007
BEIJING - China and the West are under increased pressure to change economic course after a new study showed Asia's rising power had become the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, the key greenhouse gas.
Until recently, China was expected to remain behind the United States in the emissions table until 2010, but its booming economy and surging demand for electricity have sent the gas soaring from its cement works and power stations.
It released nearly 9% more carbon dioxide last year than the year before, according to the study, produced by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. In 2005, its output trailed that of the United States by 2%.
Smoke billows from an illegal smelting plant in Yanshi in central China's Henan province. China released nearly 9% more carbon dioxide last year than the year before, according to a Dutch study. In contrast, the United States's emissions fell by more than 1%.View Larger Image View Larger Image
Smoke billows from an illegal smelting plant in Yanshi in central China's Henan province. China released nearly 9% more carbon dioxide last year than the year before, according to a Dutch study. In contrast, the United States's emissions fell by more than 1%.
Carlf Zhang, Reuters
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With the United States's own emissions decreasing by more than 1%, China now has an 8% lead.
The study is based on statistics provided by energy company BP, the U.S. Geological Survey and the International Energy Agency (IEA). The Dutch figures do not include emissions from flaring gas during oil and gas production, underground coal fires or deforestation.
The study will put further pressure on Beijing to accept mandatory targets for caps on its emissions, which it has rejected repeatedly in climate change negotiations.
But it also brought calls for the West to do more to co-operate with China in solving its environmental crisis, which has also seen it top the list for the world's most polluted cities.
"Given the urgency of climate change, what China really needs to do is not to repeat the mistakes made by developed countries," said Ailun Yang, climate campaigner for Greenpeace China.
"It has to develop in a cleaner way."
Greenhouse gases are blamed by the United Nations for causing the Earth to warm, increasing the risk of rising sea levels, droughts and floods. At present, neither China nor the United States are subject to targets under the only international treaty requiring emissions cuts, the Kyoto Protocol, whose provisions expire in 2012. European leaders hope this year to kick-start negotiations for a successor agreement.
Fatih Birol, the IEA's chief economist who first predicted six weeks ago China was on the verge of passing the United States, said the West was still responsible for the larger part of the carbon already in the atmosphere.
"This is exactly in line with what we said," he said.
"Without China and also India there is no way to address the climate change issue, but the main burden must be on the shoulders of the Western countries who have got rich by burning coal. They must provide incentives."
John Ashton, a senior British official overseeing climate change issues, said, "We need to convince China that they don't have to make a choice between prosperity and protecting the climate. We need to help them towards a low-carbon future."
Ms. Yang of Greenpeace said while China has a duty to reduce its reliance on coal, one of the most polluting fuels, developed nations that rely on China for manufactured goods also need to help by sharing cleaner energy technology.
Greenpeace also said Western industrial policies were directly responsible for the rise in China's emissions. By shifting manufacturing to the Third World, the West had transferred the environmental effects there also.
Calls for West to assist Beijing to find cleaner ways to deal with economic boom; The Daily Telegraph, with files from news services
Richard Spencer, National Post
Published: Thursday, June 21, 2007
"The West moved its manufacturing base to China knowing it was vastly more polluting than Japan, Europe or the U.S.," said John Sauven, Greenpeace's British director. "The only thing manufacturers were interested in was the price of labour."
A separate report released yesterday showed China's electricity demand rose 16% in the first five months this year. It is meeting this demand by building power stations mostly fuelled by coal.
According to the Chinese government's researchers, the volume of carbon dioxide discharge per unit of gross domestic product is about 68 times that of Japan, 26 times that of Germany, and six times that of the United States.
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Although China says the West must still take the lead on reducing greenhouse gases, it is planning a major expansion in renewable resources and an increase in the number of nuclear power stations from 10 to 40 or 50 by 2020.
While environmentalists say it is unrealistic to require China to commit to cut greenhouse gas emissions because its priority is to develop, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has said any future international framework must include fast-developing nations such as India and China.
Until now, Mr. Bush has refused to commit his country to absolute cuts in emissions, citing the damage to competitiveness of the economy.
But in the run-up to the Group of Eight summit this month, he said the United States will convene international talks among the 15 largest emitters aimed at setting "long-term goals" to tackle climate change. Those talks will feed into existing UN talks aimed at reducing emissions.
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MADE IN CHINA - 455 million cellphone handsets a year, almost 10 times more than in 2000. - Seven million cars and other vehicles, up from two million in 2000. - 75% of the world's plastic toys, made in Shenzhen, Guangdong. - 33%of the world's socks knitted in Datang, Zhejiang. - Crude steel production has almost quadrupled in six years to 419 million tons. - Cement production has doubled in the same period to more than one billion tons.
The Daily Telegraph
