There’s been a bit of a buzz in the news this week about China, and it’s newly announced targets to reduce it’s carbon footprint and develop more sources of renewable energy generation; An effort to play it’s part in the fight against global warming, and a marked change in attitude from it’s previous stance that the West should shoulder most of the burden.
I do actually have some sympathy for that last arguement, as long as it’s not being used as an excuse for in-action. I mean, lets be honest, the fact that Western companies have outsourced a great deal of manufacturing to poorer, and less regulated, countries like China has undoubtedly helped our own apparent carbon footprint, while, quite literally, dumping a load of the dirty work on the third world. A point which Rob Newman makes in his video about Climate Change (at about the 3 minute mark, but, go on, watch it all, IMO he has some interesting ideas.)
Being the cynic that I am I’m not terribly inclined to take politicians on their words, especially when they might have PR, or other agendas at heart. Even so, I do find the fact that China’s Govt is even coming out and making these kinds of statements extremely encouraging, and hopefully a positive step forward in terms of starting to tackle the threat of anthropogenic global warming.
Afterall, China’s previous refusal to get on board with fighting climate change has allowed many nay-sayers to use the arguement that, if an industrial economy the size of China isn’t bothering to reduce their carbon footprint then everybody else’s efforts are largely in vain.
I also find it encouraging that a nation which has previously hidden behind the excuse of being a “third world” country, has begun to take the threat of global warming seriously, and has commited to not only meet it’s 2020 target for renewable energy production (15%), but actually exceed it. In fact they’re talking about generating at least 18% of the nation’s energy from renewable sources, but are aiming to hit the 20% mark; The target that the rich western nations have been set, and one, incidently, which some commentators are doubting Britain will be able to achieve based on the action our Govt’s currently taking.
I find it especially heartening that a nation with so many poor citizens is taking such an enlightened and forward thinking stance! Afterall it is now widely accepted that Global Warming will have the greatest effect on the World’s poor; On the whole they will be the ones who’ll be effected first, and most severely!
I won’t be holding my breath over any of this, but maybe China’s initiatives might actually shame the West into taking this issue more seriously ourselves?
Tags: Environment