Official: China emission reduction far off

China’s emissions will continue to climb until its GDP per capita has grown at least fivefold, China’s chief negotiator at the Doha Climate Change Summit said, dashing hopes that it will take on strict emissions targets, The Guardian reported, citing state media. Before entering the conference, Xie Zhenhua said that it would be unfair and unreasonable to expect China, the world’s largest polluter, to make such cuts when GDP per capita is US$5,000, Xinhua News Agency reported. Xie stated that Western countries’ emission peaked when their per capita GDP was between US$40,000 and US$50,000, a level China is still far from reaching. China will need to reach at least half of that figure before its emissions peak, he said. The statement comes amid warnings from the UN, World Bank and International Energy Agency that all countries must improve emission reduction measures to avert climate change.