By Terry Hansen
Hales Corners, Wis. 53130
(February 23, 2021)]
I’m heartened that the United States has officially rejoined the Paris climate agreement. President Biden’s move, however, has been criticized by a number of Republicans, who rightly point out that China is the greatest current emitter and the largest consumer of coal.
A 2020 article in the Washington Examiner, “China coal additions are key source of emissions, and America is doing nothing about it,” offers a variety of strategies for influencing China’s climate policies. One suggestion is for the U.S. to increase its funding of clean energy in the developing world, thus challenging China’s coal-intensive investments in those nations. Another is to create incentives that would lower the cost of carbon capture technology to make it more attractive to China.
Climate change mitigation is an urgent matter. In its 2020 report on managing climate risk, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission asserts: “A world wracked by frequent and devastating shocks from climate change cannot sustain the fundamental conditions supporting our financial system. Promoting the transition to a net-zero emissions economy and safeguarding financial stability are consistent, mutually reinforcing objectives.”
About half of the carbon dioxide we emit stays in the atmosphere for centuries or more. As a result, global temperature increases are a direct function of cumulative emissions. Notably, the United States is the greatest cumulative emitter, with twice the historical emissions of second place China. And as the world’s most significant emitter, the U.S. bears a special responsibility to take action to address the climate crisis.
Terry Hansen
Hales Corners, Wis. 53130
References
https://www.ipcc.ch/site/
The millennial atmospheric lifetime of anthropogenic CO2
https://link.springer.com/
Global temperatures are a function of cumulative emissions (section 14.1.2)
https://science2017.
Cumulative CO2 emissions by country
https://ourworldindata.org/
1 Comment
We are broke. What is it about broke do you not understand?
China, India and Russia have zero intention, nor are they required to meet or come close to the standards that the United States has already achieved on our own…without sending sending billions we don’t have to countries that have no desire, motivation or requirement to do anything, except try at any cost to compete with us.
Besides without CO2, we’re all dead and the earth stops being green, which has been increasing by the way.
I don’t expect you to actually read the agreement, most don’t, but Stossel sums it up quite nicely (and so have many others)…and his staff did read it.
Might be the best 5 minutes you ever spent.
https://youtu.be/cVkAsPizAbU