The leading heat-trapping gases other than CO2 are methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases. In 2020, emissions of these gases from China were roughly 2 Gt CO2e—about 13% of the global total. (China’s share of global emissions of heat-trapping gases other than CO2 is much smaller than its share of global emissions of CO2). 30
After CO2, the most significant heat-trapping gas is methane. In 2020, Chinese methane emissions were roughly 1.2 Gt CO2e—about 8% of China’s total emissions of heat-trapping gases. Uncertainties with respect to methane measurement are especially large. Methane emissions in China come from coal mining, rice farming, waste disposal, livestock production and leakage during the production and distribution of natural gas, among other sources. 31
Figure 1-8: China’s Heat-Trapping Emissions by Gas (CO2e) (2020)
Source: PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (April 2022) 32
Nitrous oxide is another important heat-trapping gas. Emissions are mainly from the agriculture sector. In 2020, Chinese nitrous oxide emissions were roughly 430 Gt CO2e—about 3% of China’s total emissions. 33
China is a major producer and consumer of HFCs, a pollutant used in refrigeration and air-conditioning with a global warming potential more than 10,000 times greater per molecule than CO2. In 2020, emissions of HFCs and other fluorinated gases were approximately 315 Mt CO2e (roughly 2% of Chinese emissions). The Chinese government’s Second Biennial Update Report to the UNFCCC estimated HFC emissions of 214 Mt CO2e (roughly 1.5% of Chinese emissions) in China in 2014. 34
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