Part 6 - What you do not wish upon yourself...
by Michael Williams
July 6, 2009
...extend not to others.
Imagine you live in an area that holds an annual neighborhood cleanup and beautification campaign. Friends and neighbors come together a couple of Saturdays to pull weeds, pick up trash, haul off debris, paint their homes and plant new grass, flowers and trees.
Each individual house is beautiful. Curb appeal is great. Property values should soar. There’s only one problem. The people in the run-down mansion leading into your neighborhood have always refused to participate. Their property is overgrown. Their front yard is dotted with old sofas, cars and “antiques.” Windows are broken. The fence and front steps are missing planks. And when asked if they will join their neighbors next year, they responded that they would not because they intended to use the money saved on cleanup for other more important needs.
China overtook the U.S. in CO2 emissions faster than anticipated and is the world’s #1 CO2 emitter. According to data from the Global Carbon Project, from 2000 through 2007 global total greenhouse gas emissions increased 26 percent. During that same period, China’s carbon dioxide emissions increased 98 percent, India’s increased 36 percent and Russia’s increased 10 percent. Carbon dioxide emissions in the United States increased by three percent from 2000 through 2007. If China’s carbon usage keeps pace with its economic growth, the country’s carbon dioxide emissions will reach 8 gigatons a year by 2030 –- equal to the entire world’s CO2 production today.
Nonetheless, Chinese government officials recently indicated they are reluctant to take steps to curb their greenhouse gas (GHG) output and put at risk their enormous economic expansion, especially in manufacturing. China increased steel production from 140 million tons in 2000 to 419 million tons in 2006. In 1999, Chinese consumers bought 1.2 million cars. That number had increased 600% by 2006, when 7.2 million cars were sold. Even so, Chinese per capita emissions remain only one-quarter of U.S. emissions.
But with more and more Chinese moving into the ranks of the middle class, buying cars, televisions, computers and iPhones, GHG reduction efforts – like cap and trade -- that do not have China at the centerpiece are missing the point.
Don't forget to with your friends.
How will "cap and trade" affect your household? Use The Tax Foundation's cap and trade calculator.
Comments
oltexgal Jul 18, 2009