RECENTLY I was taken to task for suggesting that the UK should be more serious about the reduction of CO2 emissions. I was told that it won't matter what we do as it can't be enough because China doesn't give a hoot and is burning coal and producing CO2 as though it's an Olympic competition.

This typically arrogant European view couldn't be further from the truth because China has recently decided that it really needs to take a number of problems very seriously as the impact of climate change means they are suffering. It's likely to be more successful than our half hearted efforts as their undemocratic government does what's necessary and takes scant notice of vested interests, minority views and elections.

Mind you if our floods, heat waves, and air quality were as extreme as many of the regular events in China we might have a more focused interest than we have currently. The referendum debate suggested, falsely, that we have too much regulation so we still seem determined to put economic growth ahead of carbon reduction.

Not so in China where recent rainfall, up to 18 inches in a day in parts of Bejing, resulted in widespread flooding, major damage to property and death. It wasn't helped by temperatures approaching 40 degrees C which have been made worse by the terrible air quality. China is very much aware that it needs to act now, and take the actions that will help it control what happens in the future.

Until recently China's economic growth has been dependent on burning enormous amounts of coal. Indeed almost three quarters of the electricity is produced from coal fired power stations but that peaked in 2013, with the banning of any new coalmines until 2020, and the closure of hundreds of small ones.

Mind you they needed to take this action as the air quality has been appalling causing over one million deaths a year, similar to the population of Leeds and Bradford. Only one percent of city dwellers have air quality as good as the EU average, below an air quality index of 100, while often it's as high as 300, and has been off the scale around 700.

With more electric cars sold in June than the whole of the USA and Europe put together they will achieve over three million electric vehicles by 2020, and this growth is on a par with the expansion in wind and solar power, now much larger than the USA and Europe capacity by some margin.

However, with clearer skies there will be more intense heating, so China may be swapping one problem that kills for another that can be similarly lethal.