Update | China's carbon emissions more than US and EU combined, data shows

China's carbon emissions have soared to eclipse those of the United States and European Union combined, according to a study released on Sunday, ahead of an announcement expected today from Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli at a UN summit in New York on the country's new initiatives to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

The Global Carbon Project report, by leading research institutes, found that global greenhouse gas emissions would hit a record high this year, driven mainly by China's growth. That output will keep the world far off track from the deep cuts needed to limit climate change.

China's carbon emissions were set to rise 4.5 per cent this year to 10.4 billion tonnes, more than the 5.2 billion tonnes emitted by the US and the EU's 3.4 billion tonnes. US emissions would fall by 0.9 per cent this year and those from the EU would fall by 1.1 per cent.

The report projected that world emissions could reach 43.2 billion tonnes in 2019, with 12.7 billion from China alone.

"China is taking the lead, but this is a global problem," Corinne Le Quere, director of the Tyndall Centre at the University of East Anglia in Britain and a lead contributor to the report, said.

The report puts 2014 world carbon emissions 65 per cent above levels in 1990, despite repeated promises of curbs and a shift to renewable energies such as wind and solar power as part of policies to avert more floods, heatwaves and rising sea levels.