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Report: China overtakes USA as world's biggest polluter

Report: China overtakes USA as world's biggest polluter

Viknesh Vijayenthiran April 15th, 2008 Viknesh Vijayenthiran By Viknesh Vijayenthiran Author April 15th, 2008
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December 31st, 1969 China’s rapidly expanding vehicle fleet, increasing manufacturing industry and rising energy demand has pushed the country to the top of the list of world’s biggest polluters, according to research conducted by the University of California. Researchers also claim previous emissions recordings were probably underestimated and that China could have overtaken the U.S. as early as 2006. Details of the study are expected to be published in the Journal of Environment Economics and Management later this week. It concludes that China’s pollution levels will easily negate any emissions cuts made in the U.S. and Europe if no action is taken, reports the BBC. Researchers say their figures are based on provincial-level data from the Chinese Environmental Protection Agency collected in 2004. Until now computer models were used to estimate China’s future emissions levels but these allegedly underestimated growth levels. There’s not much chance of China making any radical changes to its environmental policies as it’s still struggling with widespread poverty. China, along with the UN, also insists rich countries with high per capita levels of pollution must cut emissions first, and help poorer countries to invest in clean technology.
Report: China overtakes USA as world's biggest polluter

Report: China overtakes USA as world's biggest polluter

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China’s rapidly expanding vehicle fleet, increasing manufacturing industry and rising energy demand has pushed the country to the top of the list of world’s biggest polluters, according to research conducted by the University of California. Researchers also claim previous emissions recordings were probably underestimated and that China could have overtaken the U.S. as early as 2006.

Details of the study are expected to be published in the Journal of Environment Economics and Management later this week. It concludes that China’s pollution levels will easily negate any emissions cuts made in the U.S. and Europe if no action is taken, reports the BBC.

Researchers say their figures are based on provincial-level data from the Chinese Environmental Protection Agency collected in 2004. Until now computer models were used to estimate China’s future emissions levels but these allegedly underestimated growth levels.

There’s not much chance of China making any radical changes to its environmental policies as it’s still struggling with widespread poverty. China, along with the UN, also insists rich countries with high per capita levels of pollution must cut emissions first, and help poorer countries to invest in clean technology.

Tags: Odds and ends

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Comments (10 total)

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  1. By Gus #1, Posted: 4/15/2008

    Big f-ing surprise.

    Maybe they should charge everyone $50 for riding a moped through Biejing.

  2. By Wizards Lore #2, Posted: 4/16/2008

    who the F did they pay to work this out ???

    coz i want to be in on the next pointless "no sh!t sherlock research".....

  3. By HECTOR #3, Posted: 4/16/2008

    LMAO Gus!!

    And let me all remind you that China was excempt from the Tokyo Protocols as a developing country. So Al *An Inconvenient Blowhard* Gore would give a free pass to China while imposing crippling restrictions on the American economy.

    Let's all give Al a round of applause.

  4. By chris #4, Posted: 4/16/2008

    I love the part there about "high pollution per capita", which is true, China does have a population 3 times that of the USA, so take that picture up there, and blank out two thirds of it and you get what LA should look like.

    no all kidding aside, I want to know if this is CO2 or if it is other things like ozone, noxides, etc. CO2 is a natural byproduct of combustion (and that includes digestion, rotting, rusting metals, and just about every fire you're familiar with).

    just like it's unfair to have a CAFE system that rates trucks and cars in the same system, it's unfair to lump carbon dioxide in with the rest of pollutants. yes, it is still a pollutant, but like i've said, an unavoidable one. Its a proper indication of how much energy is being used. now, clearly the USA uses much more energy than China, so the clear deduction from this article is that Uni Cali is calculating CO2 to be significantly less "polluting" than the other more harmful chemicals, and it is the unrefined and crude combustion in China that has caused them to pass the USA as the top polluter.

    Personally, I believe countries like china should be GIVEN money and technology to clean their fumes, before we waste a dime on incremental gains from further refining our emissions. Maybe not in their cars, but certainly at their coal power plants. that would be a great place to start.

    there are cities in china where it snows soot. every day of the year.

  5. By Foxfire #5, Posted: 4/16/2008

    I'm sorry, but crippling restrictions? US auto, motor and transport industries are hardly a hallmark for efficiency. Those "restrictions" hardly damaged industries in countries where they've been in force for quite some time. Quite the opposite. As for China, it will have to get its act together, just like the US is about to.

  6. By chris #6, Posted: 4/16/2008

    foxfire; i'f you're referring to the success in the european auto industry, lets note just how much the europeans pay for their cars. the ford focus for example sells for what is almost $50,000 in it's highest trim levels. it's the same story for every "volume" brand.

    the auto market in the USA is kind of like a Walmart effect. everyone's been slashing their prices for so long, that no one would consider paying much for their cars any more. profit margins for specific vehicles and even entire companies are so slim that a raise in gas prices and the subsequent 10% fewer trucks being sold has nearly bankrupted the big 3.

  7. By James #7, Posted: 4/16/2008

    I don't even know what I dislike more - US or China.

  8. By Gus #8, Posted: 4/16/2008

    James, people hate the US because they're jealous, people hate China because they're zealots...

  9. By Foxfire #9, Posted: 4/16/2008

    Chris,
    Much of the price difference between what a car costs in Europe and the US is due to high taxes European countries place on cars. For instance, Denmark went so over the top that the same car can be purchased in, say, Germany for about half the price. What I'm getting at is that US cars cannot compete in Europe, while vice versa has already been proven, even with the weak dollar. Much of it is due to focus on efficient engines and smaller cars, to which the US car industry just woke up to.

  10. By satch #10, Posted: 4/16/2008

    From what i can see in my recent trip to china i can tell you that air pollution is a big problem. but for the concentration of the population it is unfair to say China is the biggest polluter. Unlike other developing countries, China have already switched to mostly electric motor scooter from gas scooter. Majority of the population already use energy efficient bulbs in major cities as people earns a lot less and being efficient on energy is part of everyday life. In the US, this is not the case except for gasoline. But majority of China's population don't even own a automobile. I think US needs to raise their price of energy to realistic cost like in Europe to make American to live as efficiently as the Chinese.

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