CHINESE EMISSIONS OF HEAT-TRAPPING GASES
In 2017, China led the world in emissions of heat-trapping gases. Its emissions of roughly 11.7
Gt CO2e were almost one-fourth of the world total.1
This chapter starts by examining China’s emissions of CO2— the most important heat-trapping
gas. Following sections discuss China’s emissions of other heat-trapping gases, uncertainties
in emissions estimates and implications of China’s emissions for the global carbon budget.
References
1. Climate Action Tracker, “China country summary”, https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/china/ (accessed July 12, 2018) (estimating Chinese emissions of 11.7 Gt CO2e in 2017); J. Olivier, K. Schure and J. Peters, “Trends in global CO2 and total greenhouse gas emissions: 2017 report,” PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (December 12, 2017), http://www.pbl.nl/en/publications/trends-in-global-co2-and-total-greenhouse-gasemissions- 2017-report (global greenhouse emissions = 49.3 Gt CO2e in 2016).