The IMF numbers show China on track to produce $17.6 trillion worth of goods and services compared to the U.S.’s slated $17.4 trillion, based on a well-established and widely used economic measure known as purchasing-power parity (or PPP).
Meanwhile, in Lima, Peru, China offered new details on its commitment to rein in greenhouse gases and called on rich nations to speed up delivery of the $100 billion in annual climate-related aid they’ve promised by 2020. Su Wei, China’s lead climate negotiator, coupled his comments on China’s commitment with a call to accelerate funding for climate aid, shifting the pressure to industrialized nations, led by the U.S. and European Union, to do their part toward reaching an agreement next year. The “$10 billion is just one 10th of that objective,” and “we do not have any clear road map of meeting that target for 2020,” Su said. Climate aid is “a trust-building process,” he added.( –Alex Morales and Reed Landberg, Bloomberg, 5 December 2014)
Rich nations’ pledges of almost $10 billion to a green fund to help poor nations cope with global warming are “far from adequate,” particularly Australia’s lack of a donation, the head of China’s delegation at U.N. climate talks said on Thursday. Su Wei also urged all rich nations to deepen their planned cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, signaling that a joint Chinese-U.S. announcement of greenhouse gas curbs last month does not mean an end to deep differences on climate policy. (–Reuters, 5 December 2014)
Granted, rich nations produce more CO2 than poor nations, so how does China stack up in CO2 emissions?
Here are the stats for 2013:
China 10 GT of CO2 28% of world total
U.S.A 5 14%
E.U. 3.6 10%
India 2.5 7%
Russia 2 5%
Rest of world 13 GT 46% of world total.
By this account China is already a rich country and should be the first to share.
But it is getting worse.
Barack Obama and the Chinese negotiator agreed on a deal that U.S. would reduce its greenhouse gases by 24 to 28% by the year 2025 and China promised to try to halt its scheduled growth by the year 2030. E.U. have legislated similar reductions as the U.S.
So by 2030 we can look forward to a world CO2 emission balance like this:
China 30 GT of CO2, 45% of world total
U.S.A. 4 7%
E.U 3 5%
India 7.5 11%
Russia 2 3%
Rest of world 18 28 % of world total.
This is what Barack Obama heralded as a major breakthrough!
He will allow China to become six times as powerful as the U.S.A in the next 15 years.
And we will help them by being part in transferring 100 Billion to developing countries (of which China is one) in the next 10 years.
If you doubt the numbers, consider this: China already consumes 45% of the world’s coal mining, mostly low grade, polluting lignite. The air quality in Beijing is so poor that a day that is merely unhealthy by our standards is considered a good day.
The climate conference in Lima, Peru, RIP.
[Update 1] Check out this memo from the White House!
Message: White House warning of extreme weather, Nov 19, 2014.
From: info@mail.whitehouse.gov
To: xxxx@xxxx.xxx
Subject: Make sure your community is ready for climate change
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 11:51:17 -0600
The White House
Make sure your community is ready for climate change
Climate change is happening now — and we’ve got to be ready because we’re going to see more extreme weather.
That’s why we’re taking action. Last Tuesday, the President made a historic announcement with China that sets new targets for carbon pollution reductions.
And on Monday, the Administration released the Climate Resilience Toolkit to help our communities respond to our changing climate.
Check out these easy-to-use tools, including interactive maps and visualizations, that will help prepare your community for the impacts of climate change. See how you can help your community or business get ready.
Whether you’re a small business owner, planner, farmer, policy leader, or an interested resident, these tools can help you make sure that you have a climate-ready community or business.
Have questions about what climate change means for you, why it matters, and what we can do to fight it? Last Thursday, Dr. John P. Holdren, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, announced that he wants to answer your questions.
Ask Dr. Holdren your questions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Vine with the hashtag #AskDrH — and he’ll answer some of them on camera.
This email was sent to xxxx@xxx.xxx
Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy
Please do not reply to this email. Contact the White House
The White House • 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW • Washington, DC 20500 •
People through the ages have always complained about two things. Life isn’t fair, and the weather. Obama has promised to fix both.
[Update 2] On the other hand:
China has rejected the scrutiny of efforts to limit carbon emissions, a key tool that the US says is necessary as more than 190 countries work to come up with a new deal to fight climate change. Chinese negotiators sought to delete provisions in a draft text that would have paved the way for other countries and non-governmental organizations to submit questions about its carbon-reduction plans, according to environmental groups that are official observers to the talks. –South China Morning Post, 8 December 2014
Obviously, China is not satisfied being only six times more powerful than the U.S. by the year 2030.
Len Bilén's blog, a blog about faith, politics and the environment. 