China says it is world's largest greenhouse gas emitter

China today said it was the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases in what appeared to be its first acknowledgement of its global emissions ranking, ahead of UN climate change talks next week.

China on Tuesday said it was the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases in what appeared to be its first acknowledgement of its global emissions ranking, ahead of UN climate change talks next week.

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"Our emissions volume now stands at number one in the world," Xie Zhenhua, China's top climate change official, told reporters.

Up to now, Chinese officials had not clearly acknowledged the nation's world-leading emissions, which had nevertheless been confirmed by scientists and international organisations such as the International Energy Agency.

It preferred to emphasise the need to use emissions per capita -- where China is far behind developed countries --as a benchmark.