i don't know how they present chinas increasing emissions elsewhere, but here in the uk they portray it really badly - like that now its topped america, that somehow there comparable - when you have a billion something people living in china compared to 100 million something in america?! per person, china uses way less - so theres no way they should be treated the same.Rich Nations Accused of Green Imperialism on Climate Change
June 25, 2007 — By Vijay Joshi, Associated Press
SINGAPORE -- Rich countries are being hypocritical in criticizing China's greenhouse gas emissions while using the country's cheap labor in industries that pollute, Asian business and government leaders said Monday.
"This is green imperialism," Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Malaysia's deputy finance minister, told a panel discussion on global warming at the World Economic Forum on East Asia, a two-day conference that ended Monday. The next meeting will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's main city, in June 2008.
China has come under increasing pressure from the United States in particular to take more forceful measures to curb carbon dioxide emissions. China relies on coal, among the dirtiest fuels, to provide two-thirds of its energy.
Asian leaders also criticized the U.S. and Australia for not signing the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which caps the amount of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases that can be emitted in industrialized countries.
China signed the treaty but is exempt from emission reductions because it is considered a developing country, a situation often cited by the U.S. and Australia for rejecting the treaty.
Nor Mohamed said there was no point singling out one country when climate change is a global problem.
"Companies that are polluting in China are owned by American, European, Japanese and others. They are benefiting from the cheap labor, from the resources and at the same time accusing China of pollution," the Malaysian official said.
"Let's take the hypocrisy out of the equation," he said.
Addressing another session, Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive of Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co., said the private sector must play a leading role in addressing climate change while governments take their time formulating laws to limit carbon dioxide emissions.
The industry has to make technically sophisticated cars that are less polluting, he said.
"You cannot forget the fact that when someone's going to go and buy a car, you want him or her to be relieved of the guilt of emitting CO2, and that's something that we need to address."
China overtook the United States in carbon dioxide emissions by about 7.5 percent in 2006, according to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency's report. While China was 2 percent below the U.S. in carbon dioxide emissions in 2005, voracious coal consumption and increased cement production caused the numbers to rise rapidly, the agency said.
China also uses other numbers to contend that it is not the worst offender: With 1.3 billion people, China spews about 10,500 pounds of carbon dioxide per person, while the United States releases nearly 42,500 pounds per person, about four times as much.
Chen Feng, the chairman of China Hainan Airlines, said now was not the time to assign blame but to create an international solution, saying developed nations were the original polluters.
"So the way I see it is, you were bandits before you became right-minded people," he said.
President Bush recently proposed a meeting of the 15 biggest emitters of greenhouse gases to set an emissions goal. Japan's environment minister called the proposal "significant" but said it was crucial that the top emitters participate.
"Without the participation of United States, China and India _ the main emitters _ we will not stop global warming," Masatoshi Wakabayashi said.
crazy really that a huge contributer to chinas emissions has been from making all the crap we buy in the west ... which eventually ends up buried under ground or left to join the mass of plastic crap twice the size of texas floating in the ocean
an argument i forgot to mention in the last climate change chat we had on here is how i think the west will use climate change as a way of holding back the development of these countrys ... but we'll see
