Carbon dioxide emissions in China 1960-2023

China released 11.9 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2023, making it by far the world's largest polluter that year. While most countries experienced dramatic emission reductions in 2020 due to COVID-19, China was one of only a handful of countries where emissions increased. China’s contribution to global emissionsChina is now the largest emitter of CO₂ emissions worldwide, producing more than twice the CO₂ emissions of the United States each year. Although China’s contributions to global CO₂ emissions only really started at the turn of the 21st century, it has now produced the second largest volume ever in terms of cumulative CO₂ emissions. However, this is still half the total produced by the United States, where industrialization began far earlier. Main sources of China emissionsOne of the main reasons for China’s high level of emissions is the reliance of coal in its power mix. Coal is the most polluting of energy sources, and accounts for roughly 70 percent of China’s electricity generation. In 2020, China announced an ambitious plan to become carbon neutral by 2060, meaning a significant move away from fossil fuel powered transport and energy is needed.

2023年，中国排放了119亿吨二氧化碳，使得其成为当年当之无愧的世界最大污染国。尽管大多数国家在2020年因COVID-19疫情而经历了显著的排放减少，但中国却是为数不多排放量反而上升的国家之一。中国对全球二氧化碳排放的贡献目前已成为全球二氧化碳排放量最大的国家，其每年的二氧化碳排放量是美国的两倍以上。尽管中国在21世纪之交才开始对全球二氧化碳排放做出贡献，但其在累积二氧化碳排放量方面已仅次于美国，而美国的工业化起步时间远早于中国。中国排放量的主要来源之一是其在能源结构中过度依赖煤炭。煤炭作为一种污染最严重的能源，占中国电力生产的约70%。2020年，中国宣布了一项雄心勃勃的计划，旨在2060年实现碳中和，这意味着需要显著转变以化石燃料为动力的交通和能源供应。