The UK economy relies on imports from the developing world, said a report from the UK-based New economics foundation (Nef), but British politicians often blame countries like China for global warming.
"Every time we hear a government minister talking about climate change, they seem to be drawn towards scapegoating China and its rising emissions," the BBC quoted Nef's policy director Andrew Simms as saying.
"But a big factor in that rise is that China has become the major factory for the western world, so their greenhouse gas emissions are largely driven by higher levels of consumption in the west."
Nef believes that international negotiations on climate change should move towards a system where emissions are attributed to the end user rather than the country producing the goods, said the BBC.
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