What is China's potential role in greenhouse gas mitigation? "Important," says Maya Papineau, in this article, published in the online journal of the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research – Oslo (CICERO). China's industrial development, and its huge population, will contribute significantly to emissions in the future unless action is taken now.

Papineau argues that China needs to become a leading partner in making development possible without carbon emissions. Her article provides a brief yet comprehensive assessment of current and projected emissions, the role clean energy and increased efficiency could play in China, and impacts of climate change on the country.

While development goals could prohibit mitigation in industrial sectors, residential energy needs could probably be met using alternatives to carbon-intensive coal and biofuels – which would have public health benefits as well. The author also looks at the likelihood of an official Chinese contribution to greenhouse gas mitigation under the Kyoto Protocol after 2012.

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