In 2019, China for the first time generated more emissions than the entire developed world combined
Whenever human-induced climate change is discussed during Canada’s upcoming federal election, keep in mind the country that matters most on this issue is China and the fossil fuel that matters most in China is coal.
The reason is that whatever China does makes whatever Canada does irrelevant in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.
That’s because coal — not oil — is the most carbon intensive fossil fuel and the main contributor to global emissions. In China, coal-fired electricity supplies 57% of its energy needs. In Canada it’s 7.4%.
China consumes more coal than the rest of the world combined. In 2019, China was responsible for 27% of global emissions. The next largest emitter was the U.S. at 11%. Canada contributes 1.5%.
In 2019, China for the first time generated more emissions — 14.09 gigatonnes — than the entire developed world combined — 14.06 gigatonnes — including the 38 member nations of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the 27 members of the European Union.
For the rest of this column: https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/goldstein-why-china-makes-trudeaus-carbon-tax-irrelevant