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China’s Dirty Recovery Will Make Curbing Climate Change Tougher

  • Emissions rose as heavy industry led a post-virus rebound
  • Peaking carbon requires shift away from current growth engines
People commute during the morning rush hour on a polluted day in Beijing on March 4.

People commute during the morning rush hour on a polluted day in Beijing on March 4.

Photographer: Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images

Bloomberg News

China’s economy roared back from the pandemic on a plume of greenhouse gas emissions, raising questions over how the nation will balance new growth targets with its climate change goals.

Carbon dioxide emissions rose 4% in the second half of 2020, largely as a result of a heavy-industry led recovery that saw steel and cement production surge and a jump in the nation’s consumption of fossil fuels, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, or CREA.