In this article, we calculate mainland China's CO₂ emission of fossil fuel consumption from 1991 to 2010 following the apparent consumption method recommend by IPCC: (i) the scale of CO₂ emissions has increased nearly to 4 times as that in 1991; (ii) coal consumption constitutes the highest proportion due to the richness of coal resources in China; (iii) per capita CO₂ emission has increased from 1.98 to 5.57 t CO₂; (iv) carbon emission intensity declined significantly from 6.66 to 1.07 kg CO₂ USD^-1, but recently it tends to be stable; and (v) regional develop gaps remain in mainland China, for according to the provincial data, in many developing regions economic increase over-reliance on fossil fuel consumption. China has made the promises and already taken actions to deal with the high carbon emission. Comprehensively considering the sustainability of development and the uncertainties remaining in global climate change, healthier structures of industry, intensive usage of fossil fuel, and a more balanced development pattern among the southern, central and western China should be put more emphasis.