Goods Manufactured in China Not Good for the Environment, Study Finds

In a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, scientists from three universities show that products made in China are associated with significantly higher carbon dioxide emissions than the same products made elsewhere.

"The amazing increase in Chinese manufacturing over the past 15 years has driven the world economy to new heights and supplied consumers in developed countries with tremendous quantities of lower-cost goods," said co-author Steven J. Davis, an assistant professor of Earth system science at the University of California, Irvine.  "But all of this has come at substantial cost to the environment."

The researchers, also from Harvard University and the University of Maryland, attribute China's high emissions intensity -- the quantity of CO2 emitted per dollar of goods produced -- to the nation's antiquated manufacturing processes and reliance on coal.

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