Redux: China’s Environmental Concerns
February 10, 2007Quick quiz:
1. Which two countries emit the most carbon dioxide?
2. Which two countries emit the most carbon dioxide per capita? [Answers to both questions are found at the end of this post].
Here’s a clue: the answers to Q1 and Q2 are (very) different.
And because of that, it will be painfully difficult to find policy solutions to curb global warming.
Redux: the issue of environmental protection reemerges on the global stage with great momentum, but a wide chasm between the world’s two largest economies threatens to derail the entire project. Call it the Kyoto syndrome. In the case of the Kyoto Protocol, the sweet deal for China, India and other developing countries — otherwise known as “common but differentiated responsibilities” — led the US to walk away from the table.
Now, in the wake of the landmark report on global warming (”unequivocal“) released by the UN last week, the same forces are at work. And we are running in circles. Chinese’s official response to the UN report is to argue (once again) that wealthier countries should take the lead on curbing greenhouse gas emissions, thereby disowning any real (quantifiable) responsibility for the processes that cause warming. Here’s Jiang Yu, a spokeswoman from the Chinese Foreign Ministry (via the NYT), offering the crux of the Chinese viewpoint: Read the rest of this entry »
2 Comments | 
Carbon Dioxide Emissions, China, Environment, Foreign Aid, Global Warming, Growth, Kyoto | 
Permalink
Posted by Ben Landy
