Climate change rate could be faster than thought, study suggests

[xchrom]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/11/climate-change-china-carbon-emissions?intcmp=122


Heavy pollution surrounds the China Central Television (CCTV) building, right, in Beijing. Photograph: Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images

China's carbon emissions could be nearly 20% higher than previously thought, a new analysis of official Chinese data showed on Sunday, suggesting the pace of global climate change could be even faster than currently predicted.

China has already overtaken the US as the world's top greenhouse gas polluter, producing about a quarter of mankind's carbon pollution that scientists say is heating the planet and triggering more extreme weather.

But pinning down an accurate total for China's carbon emissions has long been a challenge because of doubts about the quality of its official energy use data. It is used to compute how the planet's climate will change, helping plan for more extremes of drought, flood and the impact on crops.

"The sad fact is that Chinese energy and emission data as primary input to the models will add extra uncertainty in modelling simulations of predicting future climatic change," say the authors of a study in the journal Nature Climate Change.

[aquart]

1. Duh!

[Systematic Chaos]

2. That picture looks like it was literally taken in one of the circles of Hell.

[GliderGuider]

3. China's emitting more CO2 than they admitted to,

Japanese politicians are agitating to turn some nukes back on.

Looks like nobody wants to actually stop fucking up the planet.

[joshcryer]

4. But I was told right here China was leading the charge to reduce CO2.

Who would've thought that was total bullshit?