Economics
World's Worst Polluter Is Probably Emitting More Than We Thought
- China revises higher 2012 coal consumption by 17 percent
- Coal use also increased for 2010 and 2005, NBS data show
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China’s been emitting more carbon dioxide than previously thought judging by revised coal use data for the past decade.
The world’s biggest polluter consumed about 4.1 billion metric tons of coal in 2012, or about 591 million tons more than earlier reported, according to the 2015 Statistical Yearbook from China’s National Bureau of Statistics. Use of the most-polluting hydrocarbon was also revised higher for 2010 and 2005, according to the latest report. The nation said last year it will limit coal consumption to about 4.2 billion tons by 2020.