SHANGHAI: The son of peach farmers, Chen Jian relishes the fruits of his middle class life, driving to work and flying on holiday, epitomizing how China’s carbon footprint has grown alongside the prosperity of its nearly 1.4 billion people.

Chen, 33, grew up without television in a village on the outskirts of Shanghai. Now he drives his own Chevy Lova to work as a manager at a foreign company and enjoys jet travel to Southeast Asia during his vacations.

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