China may reach its emissions goal early

China may have reached a key emissions target outlined in the UN Paris climate agreement more than a decade ahead of schedule, according to a new study by researchers in the United Kingdom.

In 2015, China pledged to peak its carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. However, a team of climate scientists from the University of East Anglia, Cambridge University and University College London has found that emissions in China peaked in 2013 and declined each year between 2014 and 2016, which was the time period studied.

"As the world's top emitting and manufacturing nation, this reversal is cause for cautious optimism among those seeking to stabilize the Earth's climate," said Guan Dabo, a professor of climate change economics at the University of East Anglia, who led the study. "Now, the important question is whether the decline in Chinese emissions will persist."