The story of emissions over the past two decades has been written in Chinese.
Since it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001 and became the world¡¯s factory, China has contributed nearly two-thirds of the growth in carbon pollution globally. Even in per-capita terms, it¡¯s now a bigger greenhouse emitter than the European Union. The world¡¯s carbon footprint is split into three roughly equal portions: China, all developed nations and the rest of the world.
That makes the recent signs of strain in the country¡¯s carbon dioxide-intensive growth model an issue not just for Beijing, but for the long-term fate of the planet.
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