China emits more greenhouse gas than the entire developed world combined, a new report from the US-based Rhodium Group claims.
China’s emissions of six heat-trapping gases, including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, rose to 14.09 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2019.
This edged out the total of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development members by about 30 million tons, according to the New York-based climate research group.
China accounted for 27 per cent of global emissions. The United States, the second biggest emitter, contributed 11 per cent while India for the first time surpassed the European Union with about 6.6 per cent of the global total.
China is now the source of more than a quarter of annual global greenhouse gases, but its cumulative or historic emissions are still far below those of other countries.
China’s per capita emissions reached 10.1 tonnes in 2019, close to the OECD average of 10.5 tonnes. The US in 2019 produced a per capita average of 17.6 tonnes – the world’s highest.
