Why the era of China's soaring carbon emissions might be ending
China, the world's biggest source of planet-warming greenhouse gases for most of the past two decades, is seemingly on the verge of bending its emissions curve from years of steep growth into a plateau.
The implications for climate change could scarcely be greater. Since China's emissions surpassed those of the United States in 2006, China's global share has grown to almost a third — a huge number, even with population differences taken into account.
A recent spate of data from China's government, as well as reports by energy analysts, have provided positive signs that while China's emissions may not decrease significantly, they also may not grow. Chinese President Xi Jinping had pledged to reach that turning point by 2030.
«The important thing to understand is that when China's emissions stop growing, it likely follows that the world's stop growing, too,» said Dave Jones, global insight director at Ember, an energy think tank.
The biggest factor in the shift is changes to how China produces its electricity. In short, renewable sources are replacing coal, the most polluting fossil fuel.
Last year alone, China installed more solar panels than the United States has in its entire history and connected most of them to its electricity grid.
Almost two-thirds of big wind and solar plants under construction globally are in China, according to a report last week from Global Energy Monitor. That is more than eight times the wind and solar capacity being planned in the United States.
Ultimately, China's emissions
