China launched a carbon dioxide monitoring satellite via a Long March-2D rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China’s Gobi Desert in 2016.

China is the third country after Japan and the United States to monitor greenhouse gases through its own satellite.

The 620-kg satellite TanSat was sent into a sun synchronous orbit about 700 kilometres above the earth and will monitor the concentration, distribution and flow of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, said Yin Zengshan, chief designer of TanSat at the Chinese Academy of Sciences micro-satellite research institute. The satellite will help in the understanding of climate change and provide China’s policy makers with independent data.

On a three-year mission, TanSat will thoroughly examine global CO2 levels every 16 days, accurate to at least 4 ppm (parts per million).

This was the 243rd mission of the Long March series rockets. Besides TanSat, the rocket also carried a high-resolution micro-nano satellite and two spectrum micro-nano satellites for agricultural and forestry monitoring.

First-hand data

The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased from 280 ppm to 400 ppm over the past 150 years, leading to an increase in average global temperatures of about 0.7 degrees Celsius over the last century, according to Lu Naimeng, TanSat chief scientist.

The new satellite will enable China to obtain emissions data first-hand and share it with researchers worldwide, Mr Yin said.

The Paris Agreement on climate change came into force on Nov. 4, with more than 100 countries committed to reducing their carbon emissions. The satellite can trace the sources of greenhouse gases and help evaluate whether countries are fulfilling their commitments. TanSat means a louder voice for China on climate change, carbon reduction and in negotiations with a bigger say on carbon trading.

Research on the CO2 flow will improve understanding of the carbon cycle and generate more accurate and reliable predictions of climate change.

China’s CO2 emissions are to peak around 2030, with emissions per unit of GDP cut by 60 per cent of 2005 levels by the same date.

A national carbon trading market will open next year.