China to reduce emissions with carbon-cap

China is the world's biggest polluter, but that could be about to change as the government announces plans to cap the country's massive carbon output.

In a report by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) it was revealed that China's coal consumption nearly equals that of all other countries in the world combined. In an effort to curb the carbon dioxide emissions produced from the mass burning of coal, the country will implement a carbon-trading programme next month. The pilot programme to curb air pollution will begin in the southern city of Shenzhen.

The Shenzhen branch of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has announced that the pilot programme will first target the 638 trading companies that are responsible for around 38 per cent of the total emissions produced by the city. It is hoped that the scheme will then be expanded to include construction, transportation and manufacturing companies.

The central government is intending to employ the pilot programme in another six cities, as well as Shenzhen, before 2014. This could then be further extended to a full nationwide cap on carbon emissions by 2016.

As well as causing problems in regards to the effect of global warming on the world, China's emissions cause local problems for its inhabitants. In January Beijing broke the air quality scale of 0 to 500, implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The city's pollution levels reached 775, causing people to leave the country.

China's implementation of a carbon cap could mean big changes for worldwide legislation on emissions. Other emitters of large amounts of air pollution, such as the US, have repeatedly cited China's lack of action in regards to climate change as a major reason against creating mass greenhouse gas regulations. Previously China has said that its main focus was economic growth, not reducing pollution.

The change in China's policy on air pollution, as signalled by the pilot carbon-cap, could mean that other countries that have been dragging to act on climate change will have to change their policy. China has pledged to reduce its carbon emissions by 17 per cent by 2015 and then by at least 40 per cent by 2020.