China’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions are the highest

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  China’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions are the highest

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Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment

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• The story: As the climate change threat draws ever closer, countries around the world have been committing to ambitious measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Research shows they have further to go than they thought.
• China's case: A research by the Rhodium Group released May 2021 showed that China, the world’s largest emitter, saw its 2019 emission levels exceed those of all developed countries combined, to reach 14 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent. That’s about 27% of the global total, a huge figure.

1. Over the past three decades, China’s emissions have more than tripled, Rhodium estimated. At the same time, global emissions reached 52 gigatons of CO2 equivalent in 2019, an 11.4% increase over the past decade. The estimate measures six greenhouse gases, including CO2 and methane.
2. Those increases put the world further off track from meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, which aims for carbon neutrality by 2050.

• Shifting sands: The changing dynamics of global emissions, with China surpassing the developed world for the first time, means that meeting the Paris goals will require significant and rapid action from all countries. The United States followed China as the world’s second-largest emitter, with 11% of the global total. India beat out the European Union for third, with 6.6% of total emissions.

1. Researchers calculated the per capita emissions also, to find that China now registered just below average levels across the bloc of countries that make up the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 
2. China’s per capita emissions still remain well below those of the United States, which has the world’s highest rate, at 17.6 tons per person.
3. China’s per capita emissions have grown largely as a result of higher standards of living, comparatively fossil-intensive electric power, and its role as the manufacturer of goods consumed around the world. That growth carries implications for how emissions in other developing countries could accelerate if they follow a similar pathway.

• What China says: During a virtual climate summit in April, China reiterated its pledge to peak emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, a decade later than other major economies. It also said it would peak coal use in 2025 and start to phase it out the following year. In May, Chinese President Xi Jinping said high-emissions projects that don’t meet environmental standards would be halted.

1. But Beijing continues to finance fossil fuel projects overseas and is continuing to build out coal-fired power plants at home. It is both the world’s largest producer of renewable energy and its largest coal consumer.
2. The big test is whether these plans together suffice to peak emissions and reach the rapid rate of emissions reductions needed to meet the long-term goal of carbon neutrality before 2060.

• Summary: A preliminary estimate of China’s 2020 emissions showed that while all other major economies saw emissions drop significantly during the coronavirus pandemic, China’s emissions are estimated to have increased by 1.7%, due in part to industry-driven economic growth and an uptick in natural gas use. 
• Knowledge centre:

1. Arctic ice melting - As water and air temperatures rise each summer near the Poles, some sea ice melts. Differences in geography and climate cause Antarctic sea ice to melt more completely in the summer than Arctic sea ice. For ice to thicken, the ocean must lose heat to the atmosphere. But the ice also insulates the ocean like a blanket. If all the ice covering Antarctica , Greenland, and in mountain glaciers around the world were to melt, sea level would rise about 70 meters (230 feet). The ocean would cover all the coastal cities. And land area would shrink significantly. Rising seas endanger coastal cities and small island nations by exacerbating coastal flooding and storm surge, making dangerous weather events even more so. Glacial melt of the Greenland ice sheet is a major predictor of future sea level rise.
2. Sea level rise - The causes of global sea level rise can be roughly split into three categories: (1) thermal expansion of sea water as it warms up, (2) melting of land ice and (3) changes in the amount of water stored on land. It is the increase in the level of the world's oceans due to the effects of global warming. Land-based ice, such as glaciers and ice sheets, is greatly affected by global warming, as well. These reserves of ice are located in places like Greenland and Antarctica. Burning fossil fuels is one of the causes of global warming because it releases carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gasses into the atmosphere. This increases water volume and melts ice sheets and glaciers, contributing to sea level rise. 

Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment

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