China is making progress on greenhouse gases faster than expected

BBC : China has been aggressively investing in both solar and wind energy and has also been replacing many of its oldest and most polluting coal power plants with new, cleaner ones. As a result, say Fergus Green and Nicholas Stern of the London School of Economics in a new report, the country could see its first decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in as few as 10 years, 5 years sooner than expected. They also predict that China’s greenhouse gas production could peak at the equivalent of between 12.5 billion and 14 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year by 2025. China’s shift toward renewables and cleaner coal plants has been driven by extremely high domestic levels of air pollution as well as international agreements. Green and Stern say that understanding China’s efforts will be key to reaching a successful agreement at the United Nations climate change conference in Paris later this year.