China Gets Dubious Honor Of World's #1 CO2 Emitter
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 06.14.08
China's coal dependence and hot economy = CO2 emissions. Photo ninnet @ flickr
In a report released Friday by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, China has stepped into first place as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, edging ahead of the United States. China's supernova economy contributed to an eight percent rise in its domestic emissions, which in turn makes up two-thirds of the global growth of emissions last year. That trend is likely to continue due to China's massive use of coal-fired energy and its huge cement industry.
The U.S. still maintains the highest per person CO2 emissions (19.4 tons), followed by Russian (11.8 tons), and Western Europe (8.6 tons) compared to China's 5.2 tons per inhabitant. But China now releases 24% global GHG emissions compared to the US' 21%. What's unfortunate is that with one year to go until UN-sponsored talks in Copenhagen try to cobble together a Kyoto Protocol replacement treaty, the world's leaders aren't coming up with the kind of innovative ideas needed to creatively reduce everybody's emissions. As Yvo de Boer, executive secretary for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change puts it:
"With a little more than a year to go to Copenhagen, the challenge to come to that agreement remains daunting."
Related link:
China Open To Post-Kyoto Framework
Via :: International Herald Tribune
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We don't need everyone going in on another hand wringing session about getting the other countries to be reducing emissions by some unspecified and unknown method.
What we need to see is a grand effort at technology sharing on things that are working.
We need open doors to companies putting up and manufacturing green products.
We need international advantages to the "most-green" technological innovations, with far more investment encouraged.
We need everyone to stop investing in the worst polluting methods especially when better is available. Part of this is identifying the best and worst, taxing the worst and subsidization of the best.
Wind, solar, geothermal, wave, water and bio-fuel energy need to be encouraged and supported. Oil and coal use need discouraged.
The path to a better future is very obvious, so the real question is, ... "Why are we not full speed ahead on that better path?"
Remember that corbon dioxide is not a pollutant but "food" for plant and trees.
The USA is still the #1 problem.
We externalize our pollution to China and we are still #2 on CO2 and #1 on other things. Its childish to say China is a bigger problem as a distraction from our own problem but it is FOOLISH to not realize we are significantly contributing and encouraging China's pollution.
WOOHOO!
Ironic picture. Those charcoal briquettes on the back of that bike are actually a fairly good fuel source for cooking and other needs (certainly better than gas or coal). While sometimes made with coal dust, they can be made from sawdust, farm waste, scrap wood, etc. These components are turned into charcoal in a furnace, then mixed with a local red clay. Spent briquettes break down easily and and can be used to surface roads or as a primary component in garden soil.
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Of course we are still the problem. Much of their emissions go towards producing stuff for us. Those should really be counted in our per capita emissions not theirs.
It is time we show leadership by dramatically reducing our emissions.
I'm not even sure why treehugger places such irresponsible stories that are designed to create inaction.
Look, we all know China's population is 4x the US'. I highly doubt anyone reading this article would be thereby urged not to take action. China will deal with its environmental problems because they are becoming acute long before they reach per capita emissions like those of developed countries. That, or its people will be impoverished because of the damage done.
And yes, CO2 is plant food but there was already plenty of food. A significant fraction of CO2 released is incorporated into biomass, but as we rapidly decrease the amount of undeveloped land the fraction of released CO2 so incorporated is decreasing (and it is- this was in Discover a year or two ago). There is a maximum capacity for biomass in any ecosystem, and a maximum rate of absorbtion. And we are emitting much more rapidly than the rate of absorbtion and are approaching the limits of capacity.
highest per capita emissions are in qatar, at close to 70 tonnes per person ... almost three times more than the average american