by KHADIJA SHARIFE
The Beijing drago breathes, and as it does – given that China has since become the world’s major emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2), overtaking even the gaseous US economy that has historically led the polluters pack – we expect raging fire. But even with a population in excess of 1.3 billion, China’s emissions, averaging five tonnes per capita, are lower than those of South Africa with just 46 million people. South Africa emits almost 20 tonnes per capita of economic output, comparable to the US, hosting five per cent of the world’s population, but guzzling 25 per cent of its oil reserves.
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