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China’s carbon emissions have now caused more global warming than EU, report says (www.carbonbrief.org)

submitted 1 month ago by 0x815 to c/environment@beehaw.org

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cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/4928706

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While developed countries have used the majority of this budget, the analysis shows that China’s historical emissions reached 312GtCO2 in 2023, overtaking the EU’s 303GtCO2.

China is still far behind the 532GtCO2 emitted by the US, however, according to the analysis.

The findings by Carbonbrief come amid fraught negotiations at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, where negotiators have been invoking the “principle of historical responsibility” in their discussions over who should pay money towards a new goal for climate finance – and how much.

[...]

Historical CO2 emissions matter for climate change, because there is a finite “carbon budget” that can be released into the atmosphere before a given level of global warming is breached.

For example, in order to limit warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, only around 2,800GtCO2 can be added to the atmosphere, counting all emissions since the pre-industrial period. (This is according to a 2023 study updating figures from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.)

Cumulative emissions since 1850 will reach 2,607CO2 by the end of 2024, according to Carbon Brief’s new analysis, meaning that some 94% of the 1.5C budget will have been used up.

[...]

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[–] IrritableOcelot@beehaw.org 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I mean...duh. When Europe and the US outsource so much of their heavy manufacturing to China, that's effectively offloading a colossal amount of their emissions. Since China has few energy resources other than coal, it amplifies the issue.

[–] 0x815 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

As I said multiple times, this is one reason among others why we need transparent supply chains. It is exactly China which opposes this. This is bad for world (and bad for China, too).

[–] DdCno1@beehaw.org 2 points 1 month ago

I think both of you are overlooking that a significant portion of China's CO2 emissions are solely caused by their wasteful construction of useless buildings that solely exist as investments and will never be occupied by anyone.