Has China reached peak emissions?
It hopes to de-link its carbon emissions from economic growth
IN LATE 2022 the Chinese government dropped its strict controls over the spread of covid-19. That was good for the economy. Factories started humming again and more cars returned to the roads. For the same reasons, it was bad for the climate. In 2023 China’s carbon-dioxide emissions surged by 4.7%, to a record 12.6bn tonnes. China accounted for over a third of the world’s emissions last year.
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This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Signs of decline”
From the June 1st 2024 edition
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