China's carbon emissions soaring past the US

China's carbon emissions are soaring past those of the US, new figures reveal, making it the dominant country in the global warming debate.

Chinese carbon dioxide pollution rose by 8% in 2007 and was responsible for two-thirds of the year's total increase in global CO2 emissions, according to experts at the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.

Cement production to meet China's demand for infrastructure to support its booming economy was a large factor: half of all global cement production now takes place in China, and the industry is responsible for a fifth of Chinese CO2. Rebuilding roads and homes after the Sichuan province earthquake is expected to increase demand further.

According to the figures, China is now responsible for 24% of global carbon dioxide emissions, followed by the US with 22%. The EU produces 12%, India 8% and the Russian Federation 6%.

Per head of population, China is still far behind the US, which remains the biggest polluter per person by a large margin. US citizens produce an average of 19.4 tonnes of CO2 each year, while those in China produce just 5.1 tonnes each. Russians produce 11.8 tonnes each, the agency says, with the figure for the EU at 8.6 tonnes, and India just 1.8 tonnes per person.

The Netherlands researchers used new data on worldwide energy consumption and cement production in 2007 prepared by the oil giant BP. Last year, the same team surprised analysts when it said that China had already overtaken the US as chief producer of CO2.