National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Monday, November 23, 2009

Photo: China CO2 Emissions Growing Faster Than Anticipated


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China has been building about two new coal-fired power plants—such as the Datong County Thermal Power Plant seen here—each week for several years. The low-cost, inefficient plants have helped make the country the single largest emitter of carbon dioxide by some estimates.

Using power plant and provincial data, a new study has found that China's CO2 emissions are growing two to four times faster than previously believed, threatening to completely derail the benefits of the Kyoto Protocol.

Photograph by China Photos/Getty Images