China's carbon emissions from fossil fuels may be 14% lower than thought

New analysis takes fuel quality into account for first time, but China is still world's largest emitter of greenhouse gasses

China's carbon emissions from fossil fuels and cement production may have been overestimated by as much as 14%, according to a new analysis by scientific researchers.

The report, published in the journal Nature, estimates that in 2013, China's CO2 emissions totalled 2.49 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon, 14% less than previously thought. Over the period 2000-2013, it calculates that the difference is 2.9 gigatonnes, larger than China's total forest sink - the amount of carbon it absorbs - between 1990 and 2007.