China Officially Admits Status As Top GHG Emitter, Defends Right To Keep Emitting More In Future

[hatrack]

BEIJING Nov 23 (Reuters) - China acknowledged on Tuesday it is the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases stoking global warming, confirming what scientists have said for years but defending its right to keep growing emissions.

China's chief negotiator in international climate change talks, Xie Zhenhua, made the comment while spelling out his government's position ahead of negotiations in Cancun, Mexico, from Nov. 29 over a new global pact to fight global warming.

Scientists and overseas bodies have said that since 2006-2007, China's greenhouse gas pollution has surpassed the United States', the world's top emitter for the 20th century.

But until now Beijing has hedged. Its officials have said it may possibly be the top emitter, that the issue needs more study or that average emissions per capita is a fairer measure to guide policy. "Now we stand at world number one in emissions volumes," Xie told a news conference in Beijing.

EDIT

http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFTOE6AM02N20101123?sp=true

[notesdev]

1. This is why

... I can't take seriously anyone who claims to be concerned with any global environmental issue who does not first and foremost focus on China. It's like searching under the light for your keys even though you lost them in the dark alley, because the you can see better under the light.

[XemaSab]

8. If the floor is getting wet from both the roof leaking and the tub overflowing

It's a lot easier to start solving the problem by turning off the faucet in the tub.

Yes, China's a bigger GHG emitter, but we can't do squat about it right now. We can only deal with what's in front of us.

[Nihil]

11. Nice response

> If the floor is getting wet from both the roof leaking and the tub overflowing
> It's a lot easier to start solving the problem by turning off the faucet in the tub.

:toast:

[joshcryer]

2. K&R

[Warren Stupidity]

3. per capita: china not even remotely close to US or Europe.

The emerging economies and their people have the right to the same lifestyle/energy use/consumption levels that we have. And, by the way, the US is doing ESSENTIALLY NOTHING to curb ghg, transform its energy use.

[NickB79]

4. The problem with that argument

Is that it assumes WE (the US & Europe) have a right to use as much energy as we currently do.

We do not.

Rather than saying China has the right to use as much energy as us, the reality is that we have to reduce our energy consumption to more closely match up with them. There's fuck-all chance of that happening voluntarily, though.

[Warren Stupidity]

6. I do not assume we have that right, I believe we are f'ing hypocrites

lecturing emerging economies about their ghg's and energy use while we consume at a fabulous rate. We aren't going to voluntarily reduce our standard of living - on that we agree.

[GliderGuider]

5. So they are both polluters and overpopulated.

Where does this "right" to fuck the planet over come from? Who bestows it? If your parents robbed banks for a living does that give you some kind of "right" to do the same thing?

[Warren Stupidity]

7. The established bank robbers

are lecturing the new gang about the morality of bank robbing.

[XemaSab]

9. Word

n/t

[pscot]

10. That's almost allegoric

Nicely done.

[Nihil]

12. Another good sound-bite ...

... and boy do we need such things to penetrate the thick skulls
of the Business As Usual morons whose attention span is measured
in single seconds ...