Environmental Leader

China’s CO2 emissions increased eight percent in 2007, and the country accounted for two-thirds of last year’s global GHG emissions increase of 3.1 percent, according to a report from the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.

China’s CO2 emissions are now estimated to be about 14 percent higher than those from the US, and the country tops the list of CO2 emitting countries, having about a quarter share in global CO2 emissions, followed by the US with 21 percent, the EU-15 with 12 percent, India with eight percent and the Russian Federation with six percent.

Together, the five countries comprise 71 percent of the total of global CO2 emissions, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency estimates.

A report from the World Bank says India is the second largest seller of carbon credits in the world with a six percent share in 2007, while China tops the list with a 73 percent share.

China has been taking proactive environmental measures, shutting down highly polluting small- and medium-size industries and finding more alternative energy, Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, told The New York Times.

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