China’s carbon emissions may have peaked
If so, it is a significant, symbolic moment
The rapid growth of China’s economy over the past few decades has come at a high environmental cost to the planet. Mountains of coal have been burned to power factories, releasing tens of billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Still more has been belched out in the production of vast quantities of steel and cement to feed construction. Last year China released over 12bn tonnes of the gas, accounting for over 30% of the world’s total emissions.
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This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “A big moment?”
From the May 31st 2025 edition
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