According to a new report from the London School of Economics, greenhouse gas emissions from China could begin to drop within the next ten yeas, five years earlier than expected.
At the end of 2014, important talks between the US and China resulted in China stating that they would ensure that their emissions would peak by 2030, which is the very first time it set a ceiling on its emissions (more can be read on that story at http://cedr.ec/2l8). Now it is believed that the emissions from China could begin to drop sooner, perhaps because of China being a heavy investor in solar and wind power or because it has been replacing its old coal plants with cleaner stations.
The report says, "China's transformation has profound implications for the global economy, and greatly increases the prospects for keeping global greenhouse gas emissions within relatively safe limits."
However, whilst progress seems to have been made, the report warns, "Whether the world can get on to that pathway in the decade or more after 2020 depends in significant part on China's ability to reduce its emissions at a rapid rate, post-peak, on the actions of other countries in the next two decades, and on global actions over the subsequent decades."
With this news, all attention once again is focused on the potential outcomes of the UN Climate Change Conference to be held in Paris in December 2015, which could see the creation of a global agreement on the reduction of emissions from 2020.
