While China has taken positive steps in the last few years to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions, it also emits a significant amount of other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions — methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), and others. These gases, collectively referred to as non-CO2 GHG emissions, accounted for nearly 20% of the country’s total GHG emissions in 2012. Even more, a recent WRI publication, Opportunities to Enhance Non-Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse Gas Mitigation in China, found that these emissions could nearly double by 2030 if China does not take additional action to curb them.

The good news? New research from WRI reports that the foundation to cutting these emissions is already in place in China: