Young Chinese scholars deliver carbon dioxide emission report

A group of scholars from Tsinghua University have rolled out the Carbon Dioxide Emission Accounts of Global Emerging Economies 2022, on Tuesday.

The report covers 50 emerging economies and aims to offer a consistent, transparent and scientific calculation system for them, said Zeng Rong, vice-president of Tsinghua University.

"It realizes independent data innovations," Zeng said.

The smallest and least developed countries have enormous potential to emit carbon dioxide, and the epidemic lockdown has slowed the growth of their emissions, but it cannot prevent them from becoming the next "giants" of emissions as a whole, said Guan Dabo, who led the work on the report.

"In global climate governance, China should play the role of a bridge between developing economies, and fully explore their potentials to decelerate or delay emission discharge, reflecting the meaning and value of the 'community of human destiny'," Guan said.

Guan said that his team will continue to update the report in the following years to cover more carbon dioxide emission inventories of developing countries.

"Climate change is one of the major global challenges facing mankind. President Xi Jinping has pointed out that we should actively and steadily promote carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, accelerate the planning and construction of a new energy system, and actively participate in the global governance of climate change," Zeng said.

China's commitment to carbon neutrality by 2060 is an important contribution to global climate change mitigation efforts and is as significant as the impact of the three industrial revolutions over the course of history and social development, experts say.

The report is aimed to establish data infrastructure and scientific basis for advocating the efforts and needs of South-South cooperation in global climate change mitigation.