Report: China among worst on climate

A new report has shamed oil-guzzling China and the US alongside oil-producing giant Saudi Arabia as the world's worst countries in dealing with climate change, AFP reported. The annual study by Germanwatch, a German environmental group, released on the sidelines of a UN climate change conference in Nairobi, was based on an evaluation of the greenhouse gas emissions and climate policies of 56 industrialized or industrializing nations. China fell from 29 on last year's list to 54. Experts said China tumbled so significantly because of its growing dependence on carbon-intensive electricity generation to fuel economic growth. Seven European countries and a trio of developing economies – Argentina, Brazil, and India – made up the top ten. Seperately, more than 90% of local government officials in Shanxi province surveyed by the provincial Environmental Protection Agency, said harsher measures against pollution would slow economic growth, the <i>South China Morning Post</i> reported.