While Australia debates the merits of going nuclear and frustration grows over the slower-than-needed switch to solar and wind power, China's renewables rollout is breaking all the records.
There are something like 1.2 billion people living in China and the rest of the world has moved a ton of manufacturing there, of course the country produce more pollution than any another.
But per capita, they are not number one.
Here’s the carbon dioxide production per capita for the entire world.
Other type of pollution will obviously by different but I’m not sure they are first per capita in any category.
Both the US and China should be held accountable and you should make excuses for neither. We all know coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel, and China still consumes over 50% of the entire world’s yearly coal. China is responsible for the largest share of CO2 emissions each year by far, and only China can take action to change that, regardless of any per capita measure
While I don’t want to be an apologist for China, you might pay attention to the pace of their renewables buildout, and their plans. Also consider quality of life where at the same time they are providing power to millions of new customers
Most importantly, we’re criticizing them because they are one of very few countries that are ahead of their commitment? Or are we criticizing them for being in pace with the rest of the world combined? There are far more worthy issues to criticize China for: can’t we be happy with the win?
I live in a small European nation with ~11m inhabitants. We are phasing out nuclear energy and opening… Natural gas power plants. Our emissions will go higher because of that. At the same time, China is lowering its emissions of GHG. Yes, we will still produce less pollution than a country with literally more than 100x people living in it, but individually, we will produce more than the average Chinese citizen.
Should countries produce the same amount of GHG regardless of size?
Do we expect Germany to be on the same level as Luxembourg?
China is a semi dictatorship that’s committing Genocide and produces a lot of pollution but we can’t ignore that its size plays a role in that.
At the same time, China is lowering its emissions of GHG.
No they’re not, they’re increasing both renewable and hydrocarbon-based energy production. The US is actually lowering CO2 emissions, having peaked in 2007 and trending lower every year since. We should celebrate China investing in low or no carbon technologies, but don’t give them more credit than is due. There’s still a long way to go all around
I disagree.
Of course more people will pollute more, it’s basic math so if a country with 10 millions inhabitants produces 5 times as much greenhouse gases as a country with 1 million inhabitants, the smaller country is the one which should do more.
Global warming (and pollution in general) is a global issue, we can’t ask people to produce less because they happen to live in a bigger country.
The fact that the EU or the US produce more than half the amount of GHG than India or China with not even half their population is insane.
I am not saying China is doing enough, simply that we can’t point our finger at them when we all pollute more.
A bigger country has more industry.
Spain is bigger, has more industry and pollutes more than Portugal for example and it’s “normal” (as normal as destroying the environment is).
And pretending the end consumer doesn’t bare any responsibility is dishonest.
I’d also add that most manufacturing done in China is not for Chinese citizens but us, Europeans and Americans.
There are something like 1.2 billion people living in China and the rest of the world has moved a ton of manufacturing there, of course the country produce more pollution than any another. But per capita, they are not number one. Here’s the carbon dioxide production per capita for the entire world. Other type of pollution will obviously by different but I’m not sure they are first per capita in any category.
Both the US and China should be held accountable and you should make excuses for neither. We all know coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel, and China still consumes over 50% of the entire world’s yearly coal. China is responsible for the largest share of CO2 emissions each year by far, and only China can take action to change that, regardless of any per capita measure
While I don’t want to be an apologist for China, you might pay attention to the pace of their renewables buildout, and their plans. Also consider quality of life where at the same time they are providing power to millions of new customers
Most importantly, we’re criticizing them because they are one of very few countries that are ahead of their commitment? Or are we criticizing them for being in pace with the rest of the world combined? There are far more worthy issues to criticize China for: can’t we be happy with the win?
I live in a small European nation with ~11m inhabitants. We are phasing out nuclear energy and opening… Natural gas power plants. Our emissions will go higher because of that. At the same time, China is lowering its emissions of GHG. Yes, we will still produce less pollution than a country with literally more than 100x people living in it, but individually, we will produce more than the average Chinese citizen. Should countries produce the same amount of GHG regardless of size? Do we expect Germany to be on the same level as Luxembourg? China is a semi dictatorship that’s committing Genocide and produces a lot of pollution but we can’t ignore that its size plays a role in that.
No they’re not, they’re increasing both renewable and hydrocarbon-based energy production. The US is actually lowering CO2 emissions, having peaked in 2007 and trending lower every year since. We should celebrate China investing in low or no carbon technologies, but don’t give them more credit than is due. There’s still a long way to go all around
Per capita is a terrible measure when it comes to greenhouse gases. That Wikipedia list puts Palau at number one per capita.
It doesn’t matter how much each individual person is putting out, it matters how much is being put out in total.
And in that case, these are the top five. None of them, including China, are coming close to doing anywhere near enough:
I disagree. Of course more people will pollute more, it’s basic math so if a country with 10 millions inhabitants produces 5 times as much greenhouse gases as a country with 1 million inhabitants, the smaller country is the one which should do more. Global warming (and pollution in general) is a global issue, we can’t ask people to produce less because they happen to live in a bigger country. The fact that the EU or the US produce more than half the amount of GHG than India or China with not even half their population is insane.
I am not saying China is doing enough, simply that we can’t point our finger at them when we all pollute more.
But it’s not mostly people who are doing most of the polluting, it’s industry. That has nothing to do with population size.
A bigger country has more industry. Spain is bigger, has more industry and pollutes more than Portugal for example and it’s “normal” (as normal as destroying the environment is). And pretending the end consumer doesn’t bare any responsibility is dishonest. I’d also add that most manufacturing done in China is not for Chinese citizens but us, Europeans and Americans.
China doesn’t have to allow that manufacturing.