Quarter of China’s carbon emissions due to exports

One quarter of China’s booming emissions of climate warming gases are from its export trade to Europe and the United States, a report said, calling for a new way of calculating national carbon emissions. It said that not only were industrialized countries responsible for most carbon emissions to date, but they also had significant responsibility for driving the rapid growth in emissions from industrializing countries like China. It said net Chinese exports — that is exports minus imports — accounted for 1.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide or 23% of Chinese emissions in 2004. That was equal to Japan’s total CO2 emissions as currently calculated and more than double Britain’s, and the figure was surging annually. (October 19, 2007)