China sets example with marked reduction in CO2 emissions

Official data from China shows it is cutting coal and CO2 emissions faster than any other country. Indeed, Greenpeace says the CO2 reduction could be equal to UK total emissions over same period.

An analysis of the data by Greenpeace/Energydesk China suggests coal consumption in the world’s largest economy fell by almost 8% and CO2 emissions by around 5% in the first four months of the year, compared with the same period in 2014.

John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, commented: “While China has historically been used as an excuse not to act on climate change, now we are beginning to see China as the example of why we should act on climate change. The drop in emissions from coal shows that the progress made on alternative energy and energy efficiency is beginning to kick in.

"While some of the drop may be caused by slower GDP growth, the majority is clearly government action to curtail coal use and rebalance the economy. China’s drop in emissions is a timely message to the rest of the world ahead of climate talks in Paris in December.”