I essentially copied the description of the data, which covers many locations around the world. Forestry takes place in many countries, and forests often grow back.

I suggest you read that Wikipedia article again, but here is a short quote: "For China, country statistics report cumulative tree cover loss of 12,766,739 ha (127,667.39 km2) from 2001 to 2024 (about 7.8% of its 2000 tree cover area)."

If you are interested, it might be worth reading up on afforestation and deforestation in China, as both have occurred: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

You misread what I wrote, so let me try again.

I wrote that "The figures I provided include transport, electricity, and heating, but not deforestation.", meaning that the CO2 numbers stem from transport (e.g., cars), electricity generation (e.g., by burning coal to power a generator), and heating (e.g., via a gas boiler connected to radiators) are all included.

However, when forests are cleared or burned, carbon stored in plants and the soil is released, and these figures are not included.

It is good that China is investing in the future, but the current situation is what it is. And don't overlook other countries like Denmark that got 59.3% of electricity from windpower in 2024.

I am not entirely comfortable with the term "renewable energy," as it only encompasses solar, wind, bioenergy/biomass, hydro, and geothermal energy. Renewable energy sources are often intermittent, meaning they are not available all the time, and the term excludes nuclear power, which accounts for about 9% of global electricity production.

In any case, it is total CO2 emissions that we should worry about, and in that area, China is dominant.

China is highly prominent in the production of renewable energy, but its usage is not. The the country ranks in 47th place, with a share of 33.6 percent renewables. This is slightly better than the United States, which sits in 50th place.

First place is held by Iceland, with 100% renewable energy, followed by Norway with 98.4%.

It's not possible to know whether the figures for 2026 will be lower, as that year is still underway, and China showed some growth during 2025. The figures I provided include transport, electricity, and heating, but not deforestation.

... double in total numbers, but yes US currently still has 1.7 times higher value value capita. EU is lower per capita though and has been since about 2015.

China has not reached its peak. The US reached its peak in 2007, and China is at double that 2025.

... but billion not million

Those numbers are per capita. In absolute terms, China emitted 12.4 million tonnes in 2025, and the USA 5.04 million tonnes.

That curve shows the cumulative value since 1750. I am looking at annual data from the same source. Which curve one is interested in depends on whether one is concerned with the sins of the past or with the present.

Oops. 8.745 tonnes should have been 8.74 tonnes.

China's per capita carbon dioxide emissions amount to 8.77 tonnes in 2025, 8.745 tonnes in 2024, and 8.65 tonnes in 2023, they are therefore increasing, and in absolute terms, they are nearly (though not quite) three times the level of declining US emissions.

Yes, we all need to change, but China accounted for 31.84% of global CO2 emissions in 2025. This represents a slight decrease from a peak of 32.26% in 2023, but in absolute terms, the level of emissions has essentially plateaued. They have, for the most part, risen steadily with the exception of the very recent period. A large proportion of China's CO2 emissions comes from coal.

The United States is the second-largest emitter, at 12.60% (2022), though its emissions per capita have been declining for the past 25 years or so. India ranks third.

Then there are industrialized nations with relatively low per CO2 dioxide emissions like France, where a significant share of energy is derived from nuclear, hydroelectric, and wind power.