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China’s carbon dioxide emissions rose 9 percent in the first quarter of 2021, Reuters reported. The report said 70 percent of its surge was due to the increased consumption of coal.
The Wall Street Journal reported that China’s President Xi Jinping pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060. The country is the world’s worst emitter. The report pointed out that John Kerry, the U.S. climate envoy, has urged China to make quicker short-term goals.
The report pointed to rules that were put in place by the country’s environmental ministry that focuses on about 2,200 companies instead of the 6,000 companies that were involved in the original plans.
CarbonBrief.org reported that China’s post-pandemic surge of emissions reached a new high of about 12 billion tons.
TREND FORECAST: We had forecast that the bottom line in the global climate change movement would be “the bottom line.” And the bottom line is money. Indeed, China has admitted that economic growth has taken precedence over its reduced-emissions goals. This too will hold true with developing nations who will burn the cheapest fossil fuels to save money rather than transferring to clean energy sources which are more costly.