China's Coal Habit Is Outpacing Its Clean Energy Boom

A recent social media post from a meteorologist with a large following made a claim that deserves a closer look.

The post argued that it is a myth that China is responsible for rapidly rising carbon dioxide emissions, and it has been shared hundreds of times.

The following graphic attached to the post, from Our World in Data, showed annual carbon dioxide emissions by world region.

It also showed something that undercut the claim: China’s emissions have surged this century and now represent the largest single-country contribution to annual…