So America can stop being the world’s global warming scapegoat now right?

China has overtaken the United States as the world’s biggest producer of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, figures released today show.

The surprising announcement will increase anxiety about China’s growing role in driving man-made global warming and will pile pressure onto world politicians to agree a new global agreement on climate change that includes the booming Chinese economy. China’s emissions had not been expected to overtake those from the US, formerly the world’s biggest polluter, for several years, although some reports predicted it could happen as early as next year.

What’s not mentioned here is that, despite refusing to sign on to the Kyoto pact, America is doing far better than the rest of the world in cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions, including those countries in Europe that love condemning America for being the #1 carbon dioxide emitter and not signing on to Kyoto.  This is the primary reason why China caught us and surpassed us in carbon dioxide emissions before anyone expected the country to.

The lesson we can learn from this?  One need not sign on to stringent international (or even domestic) regulations in order to make a difference when it comes to air pollution.