China may have reached its peak carbon emissions in 2013, ahead of its 2030 Paris climate accord pledge, according to research published in the journal Nature Geoscience. Dabo Guan, professor of climate change economics at the UK-based Guan, estimated greenhouse gases peaked at 9.5 billion tonnes in 2013, falling to 9.2 billion tonnes in 2016. The decline in emissions came amid a slowdown in China's industrialisation and its coal consumption. However, some analyst are less optimistic and note that China's coal consumption increased in 2017, and will probably rise again in 2018.
China may have reached its peak carbon emissions in 2013, ahead of its 2030 Paris climate accord pledge, according to research published in the journal Nature Geoscience. Dabo Guan, professor of climate change economics at the UK-based University of East Anglia, estimated greenhouse gases peaked at 9.5 billion tonnes in 2013, falling to 9.2 billion tonnes in 2016. The decline in emissions came amid a slowdown in China's industrialisation and its coal consumption. However, some analyst are less optimistic and note that China's coal consumption increased in 2017, and will probably rise again in 2018.