China’s carbon emissions have been flat or falling for nearly two years, analysis found.
Research carried out for Carbon Brief found that CO₂ output plateaued from March 2024; fossil fuel emissions grew 0.1%, more than offset by a 7% decline in cement production.
The numbers, alongside China’s economic growth, imply that its carbon intensity — emissions divided by GDP — is down 12% over the period 2020-2025.
That is, however, well below its 18% target and short of its Paris Agreement commitments. Still, China’s is perhaps the most extreme example of the remarkable global growth of renewables: In 2014, they generated half as much electricity as coal, Nature reported; now they generate 1.5 times as much.
