Mythbuster: China's pollution

Think there’s no point in reducing your carbon footprint because of China’s rising emissions? Think again, says Duncan Clark

Though it didn’t make much of a splash in the mainstream press, an announcement in 2007 from the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency was big news in eco circles. It said that China had overtaken the US as the chief emitter of CO2 – years earlier than anyone had expected.

Other groups, such as the International Energy Agency, measure emissions differently and don’t expect China to take the number one spot until some time this year. But no one disagrees about the general trend.

The numbers are staggering - for the past few years, just the increase in China’s CO2 output was greater than the total output of the UK. It’s not hard to understand why some people find this disheartening and wonder whether it’s even worth reducing our own emissions.

But when you look at the facts, the argument for doing nothing just doesn’t stand up. China is no longer a distant country with far-away problems – we as a planet face interlinked and mutual challenges. So let’s address some of the most common myths surrounding China’s emissions and realise why it is everyone’s problem.

1. China is the worst polluter

Though China’s total emissions are sky-high, they’re spread between around 1.3 billion people – almost one-fifth of the world. In terms of emissions per person, China isn’t too bad at all – lower than, say, Algeria, Jamaica and Uzbekistan.

The average Chinese person is responsible for less than half the CO2 of the average Brit and five times less than the average American. In truth, much of China’s reputation as a climate criminal is the result of it being so huge and populous. If the same area consisted of ten separate countries, its emissions would probably rarely get a mention in the world press.

2. China’s economic boom is an environmental disaster

When looking at China’s carbon footprint and other developing countries it is important to remember that current emissions are only a small part of the picture. Carbon dioxide typically remains in the atmosphere for around 100 years after being released. That means that the majority of the carbon currently warming the atmosphere was emitted before China’s economic rise.

If you consider CO2 emissions since the beginning of the industrial era, the US is responsible for 28 per cent of the total, with Europe and Russia accounting for another 25 per cent. China contributes just 8 per cent, despite its far bigger population.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, even if China’s emissions continue to soar until 2025, the total amount of ‘Chinese’ CO2 in the air will still be half of the total amount of ‘American’ CO2.

3. China’s emissions have nothing to do with the West

Another reason why we shouldn’t blame China is because a large slice of their emissions is caused by manufacturing goods for export to the West. Is it fair that China is held accountable for the CO2 released from a factory producing toys, tables or stereos for Europe or America?

Not according to Qin Gang, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman. "A lot of the things you wear, use and eat are produced in China”, he says. “On the one hand, you increase the production in China, on the other hand you criticise [our] emissions."

There’s no simple way to calculate the percentage of Chinese emissions that are created by the manufacture of goods for the West. But if the ubiquity of ‘Made in China’ labels in our shops is anything to go by, it must be a sizeable proportion.

4. China isn’t facing up to its carbon footprint

Rocketing emissions are always a serious concern, but does China really deserve to be pilloried as a carbon villain? Today, it is beginning to take some steps to curb its use of fossil fuels. In 2004 it introduced fuel efficiency standards for cars that are stricter than those found in the US – and they will be tightened further in 2008.

This is one example of the policies included in China’s ‘National Climate Change Programme’, which aims to increase energy efficiency by 20 per cent between 2005 and 2010. Though this plan doesn’t include cutting total emissions, it’s a clear sign that green issues are on the agenda.

Looking to the future, it is possible that China’s growth will stall due to constraints such as a lack of fuel to power further growth. In 2005, US author James Kunstler estimated that if China’s oil consumption continued soaring at its current rate, the country would be consuming 100 per cent of total world oil exports by 2015. This is clearly unpractical, so it looks likely that something will have to give.

In the meantime, there’s much that countries and individuals everywhere can do to reduce their carbon emissions. Simply blaming China seems a pretty poor excuse for inaction.