China Emits Australia’s Annual Carbon Output Every 12 Days, New Research Finds

China’s emissions have more than doubled since 2004, sabotaging global efforts to combat climate change.

Smoke billows from stacks as a Chinese woman wears as mask while walking in a neighborhood next to a coal fired power plant in Shanxi, China, on November 26, 2015. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Australia’s efforts to reduce emissions—often at great cost to the economy and workers—are being totally negated by China, which emits as much carbon in 12 days as Australia does in an entire year, new research by the Institute of Public Affairs has found.

“Even in the highly unlikely event that Australia would ever reach net zero carbon emissions, this would be cancelled out every fortnight by China,” said Cian Hussey, a research fellow at the Institute, who says continuing to pursue a goal of Net Zero amounts to “an act of devastating economic self-harm.”