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875000
12-12-2007, 11:26 AM
Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- China, the world's fastest-growing major economy, said nations should look beyond their financial self-interest and set emission limits, to ensure efforts to curb climate change aren't interrupted.

China passed the U.S. last year to become the world's largest source of carbon dioxide gas, from burning fossil fuels and producing cement, according to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. The Asian nation and other fast-growing economies must be given more leeway on greenhouse gases as they pursue polices to promote growth and reduce poverty, Chinese economic official Xie Zhenhua said.

Ministers from more than 130 countries are meeting today on the Indonesian island of Bali to discuss an accord to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. The U.S. has said it rejected the Kyoto treaty and its emissions limits in part because developing nations including China weren't required to cut greenhouse gases, putting the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage.

Emission limits need to be urgently negotiated so ``an agreement can be reached by 2009 to stop the gap between the two periods'' when Kyoto expires and a new accord begins, Xie, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, said today at the United Nations- sponsored climate conference.

Curbing Consumption

China is ``earnestly'' seeking to address the issue of climate change by curbing energy consumption and emissions, Premier Wen Jiabao said Nov. 21. The nation has a plan to reduce the amount of energy used to generate each unit of gross domestic product by one-fifth by 2010 from 2005 levels.

The ``most urgent need was for developed nations to meet targets in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which runs for the five years starting next year,'' Xie said at the UN Climate Change Conference. ``We must look beyond our narrow self-interest.''

By boosting energy efficiency and other measures, China has saved 1.8 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in the 15 years through 2005, Xie said. The nation will spend $20 billion this year to develop renewable energy, he said.

Chinese officials have argued that their country can't do as much to control global warming as the U.S. or Europe.

``Whether the U.S. participates or not, and no matter what the outcomes of the conference will be, China will actively seek to increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions,'' Xie told delegates at the conference. ` `We will absolutely not commit ourselves to the same mandatory targets as developed nations.''

Reliance on Coal

China burns coal to generate 78 percent of the electricity used in the world's biggest energy-consuming nation after the U.S. Pressure to curb emissions conflicts increased demand for power generation in an economy that's growing faster than any other major market.

The country's power demand may rise 13.5 percent next year, the State Grid Corp. of China said Nov. 12.

Most developing countries ``are in the process of industrialization and urbanization, and they face the arduous task of eliminating poverty,'' Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui said on Nov. 9 in Beijing. ``Their need for increased energy and greenhouse-gas emissions is inevitable, and they need a reasonable process of continued growth.''

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=home&sid=a1S5lK3BeaRw

875000
12-12-2007, 11:29 AM
It may surprise many of you to know that I actually am slightly left of center on environmental issues.

Sadly, the nation of China and Al Gore periodically force me to question that collection of stances.

Gan
12-12-2007, 11:35 AM
So much for getting them to the Kyoto table...

Kembal
12-12-2007, 11:36 AM
Now that's how you do hypocrisy. Contradict yourself in the same speech!

BTW, what does it mean to be slightly left of center on environmental issues?

Kembal
12-12-2007, 11:37 AM
So much for getting them to the Kyoto table...

Wrong table. They're currently negotiating the Bali agreement/protocol/treaty/any other name for a diplomatic document.

Gan
12-12-2007, 11:38 AM
Looks like I'm behind on this topic. Ah well, change the name of the table then.

875000
12-12-2007, 12:21 PM
BTW, what does it mean to be slightly left of center on environmental issues?

It is sort of a nuanced series of positions. Basic idea is that I agree environmental concerns need to be addressed, but I think the environmental movement often goes about it wrong

1. I actually think that global warming is occuring. However, I think alot of the proof "experts" cite is not scientifically sound and that the scale of the problem is frequently overstated (this is one of the main reasons I detest Al Gore -- I feel he parrots junk science in many cases and is often hypocritical -- and is thus a poor spokesperson for the environmental movement).

2. I support using business and economic principles to achieve environmentally-sound outcomes and environmental objectives. Several good examples are trading permits (i.e., SOX/NOX trading program, emissions trading, etc.), Joint Implementation programs, and purchasing land for conservation purposes

3. I do not believe that globalism and enviromentalism are mutually exclusive

4. I am a big believer in sustainable business practices

5. Ditto with conservation initiatives, although I believe an economic cost/benefit analysis should be conducted to understand and weigh trade-offs

6. I support Smart Growth initiatives

7. Most applicable here, I do not believe in giving developing nations a pass on issues that have a global importance. I believe that several of the more cynical nations -- such as China -- are trying to use environmental issues and concerns to gain an economic advantage over other countries. To the degree that you give developing nations a pass, you allow for this behavior to happen