China takes the Gold in CO2 Emissions
August 27, 2008 by Jean Mercedes
Filed under Business
The so-called “BRIC” economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are growing so fast, that they are expected to catch up with and pass the current largest economies of the world. The big question is, “how long will it take?” to raise the per capita GNP up to the levels of the US and Europe. 10, 20, 30 years?
China has already “left us behind in the dust” when it comes to the emission of carbon-dioxide. According to USA Today, China is now responsible for 24% of the worldwide CO2 emissions, easily passing the US which is ranked at “only” 21%.
The polluters list:
- China: 24%
- USA: 21%
- Europe (EU-15): 12%
- India: 8%
- Russia: 6%
Of course, China also has about four times as many citizens as the US, so the per capita pollution rate is actually much lower. Still, the metric is an interesting one. In general, US citizens use about twice the amount of energy as Europeans and this is reflected here. (See also my post on energy saving.)
Looks like China is heading for more smoggy weather. Does pollution bring prosperity?
