Global warming is an issue that should be of major concern in the United States. However as the name implies it's a global issue. One country that's of particular interest to me is China. China was heavily criticized for its emissions leading up to the Beijing olympics and many athletes even refused to train in Beijing because of such high emissions. So how much is China contributing to the climate change?
USA Today put out an article last year which really puts things into perspective. China relies heavily on coal to provide energy, almost 70 % to be exact. None of this being the clean coal that our presidential candidates reference. It also appears unlikely that any moves will be made in the near future to remove their dependence from coal. China is regarded as an emerging superpower, however it still hasn't reached that status yet and therefore it seriously lacks the funds to invest in alternative fuels. It's a scary thought because according to USA Today China is on pace to pass us as the largest emitters of greenhouse gases.
China happens to be one of the major countries which has chosen to not ratify the outlines put forth in the Kyoto Protocal. It's a move which could substantially hurt china. Many of their rivers have already begun to shrink in size due to evaporation and many of the ecosystems in China are predicted to face major damage. As a developing super power China needs to understand that it needs to put itself in a position where they are taking responsibility for global warming and are setting an example for others as well.
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2 comments:
I found this post pretty interesting to me because I'm a Chinese. And I have to say I agree with you on some points. I feel bad that athletes didn't want to train in Beijing because of the emissions. Chinese government tried so hard to present the country to the world as the most suitable place for Olympics. Oh, but Shanghai is not that bad I promise because that's where I come from.
On the other hand, I think because China is still developing, it's not the time yet to limit emission. Our country still have a lot to accomplish so some kind of pollution is inevitable. Coal is an important resource in China because coal is cheap so government can use the money to build other more important infrastructures. Besides, coal mining is a risky job in China. Those coal miners are risking their health working in a not so good environment. But they have to do this, or their families will starve, not to mention their kids going to school. If Chinese have other choice, they won't want to pollute. Eveyone wants a clean environment. But for a country that is still developing, there is always something that should come first. One day when China is fully developed as US is now, I believe Chinese government will make all efforts to limit pollution. I'm not meaning that environment protecting is developed countries' business. Chinese are working hard on this too. For example, stores don't offer plastic bags now, and I think this is a perfect idea to control "white pollution". Maybe this is not enough for a country so big as China, but as I mentioned, people are working on it. When the right time comes, people will see how clean it is in China.
Interesting, I cannot ignore this post. Well, though haven't check the fact mentioned in the post myself, I agree that China should take up responsibility to reduce emissions. In fact as Margaret said, Chinese government has begun working on the issue. However, due to the actuality in China, it is indeed hard to do much without hurting economy growth. We don't have large population of educated labor and many businessmen in the industry are lack of the awarness of environmental protection and are profit-oriented. Advanced technology hasn't apply widely in coal industry.
In fact, U.S. has been trying hard to turn China into a reponsible stakeholder and remember in vice presidential debate Joe Biden said U.S. would export technology of making clean coal to China. It'll be great to do so and I'm sure China need to pay alot either politically or financially for this.
In the end of your post, you mentioned "China happens to be one of the major countries which has chosen to not ratify the outlines put forth in the Kyoto Protocal." I would like to point out the mistake here. 1. According to Kyoto Protocal, developing country doesn't have the reponsibility of reducing CO2 emissions. Thus it is improper to say that China has *chosen to not ratify the Protocal. 2. U.S. is the only developed country who has chosen not to sign the protocal and is criticized harshlt for this.
The good news is, the cooperation on this issue between the two countries are progressing. During Bush administration, China and US cooperated successfully on devising a post-Kyoto climate policy that focuses on programs that are both energy efficient and pro-growth rather than on unrealistic reductions of emissions according to Victor Cha, who was responsible for Asian policies.
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