China tops the US in greenhouse gas emissions, reports the New York Times.
New York Times: China has overtaken the United States as the top emitter of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, because of surging energy use in its economic boom, a Dutch environmental agency said. Other experts have estimated that China will not surpass the United States until as late as next year. “But whether it is 2006 or 2007 is not the key issue,” said Fatih Birol, chief economist of the International Energy Agency. “What is key is that China is becoming the world’s top carbon dioxide emitter.”
And here is another news on China: As glaciers melt and rivers dry up, coal-fired power stations multiply, the Guardian reports.
Guardian Unlimited: In the last six years, the Chinese coal industry, with reserves put at more than 1 trillion tonnes, has doubled production to more than 1.2bn tonnes a year. The country is now building 550 coal-fired power stations – opening at the equivalent of two a week – and in the five years to 2005, electricity generation rose 150%.
But while the Chinese economy has tripled in size in a decade, it has been at the expense of carbon dioxide emissions, which were yesterday put at more than 6.2bn tonnes in 2006, compared to nearly 5.8bn tonnes for the US.
