China’s carbon emissions were the highest in the world in 2007, exceeding those of its closest rival, the United States, by 14 percent, according to a new study from the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. The NEAA also found in a study last year that China was the world’s top polluter in 2006, a finding some other energy agencies disputed. However, the emissions increase in 2007 was so massive — 8 percent, according to NEAA — that there’s now little doubt China’s in the lead in overall carbon emissions. Its booming economy, terrible energy efficiency, and substantial appetite for coal are thought to be the main drivers of the increase. According to the study, China’s emissions jump last year accounted for about two-thirds of the world’s total greenhouse-gas increase in 2007. Some things haven’t changed, though. The U.S. is still the world’s pollutingest nation on a per-person basis; its citizens out-polluted the Chinese by nearly four to one.
