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Unless China, USA and India start cutting emissions anything the smaller countries do to limit their emissions will likely dwarfed by the growth in these super

Unless China, USA and India start cutting emissions anything the smaller countries do to limit their emissions will likely dwarfed by the growth in these super polluter countries.

api 11y ago
Wouldn't the EU also rank if considered collectively?
- thinkcontext 11y ago
  Yes, the EU will need to cut its emissions but it has a cap and trade system and political leaders are generally on board with the need to remake their economies without carbon. In addition, it is miles ahead of the US in terms of emissions. According to this article, in 2013, the EU had per capita emissions of 6.8 tons/person versus 16.5 for the US. Even more startling, it was lower than China, which weighed in at 7.2. http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29239194 http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29239194
jussij 11y ago
And unless we stop thinking about this as a countries issue rather than a issue for humanity then we are all doomed.
- ps4fanboy 11y ago
  Until countries give up their sovereignty it will always be a country issue.
  - jussij 11y ago
    I don't think the problem is sovereignty. The problem is vested interests, wealth and greed. I have no doubt that given the will, the problem of climate change is not an overly hard problem to fix. We humans have always been good at problem solving. We just need those vested interest to get out of the way and let that happen.
mdorazio 11y ago
Slightly more nuanced point: US emissions are actually down from their peak by quite a bit [1]. The problem is that developing countries like China are rapidly increasing their emissions to US per capita levels [2] while the rest of the world's emissions aren't dropping fast enough to compensate. At this point it's pretty inevitable that world CO2 levels are going to continue rising for many years. [1] https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/co2.html https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/co2.ht... [2] http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC/countries/CN?display=graph http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC/countries...
- jseliger 11y ago
  The problem is that developing countries like China are rapidly increasing their emissions to US per capita levels I've also read that many of China's emissions come from producing products for export, such that the U.S. may be shedding official omissions by shifting production to China, which allows the emissions to be counted there even though the final product ends up being used in the U.S.
erikpukinskis 11y ago
That's not really how it works. Small countries can make massive differences by improving technology, updating best practices, and doing research that can help illuminate the path forward. We desperately need a clearer picture of what the climate change timeline is going to look like, and how to approach each step, given immensely complicated cultural realities. People in smaller countries with good education systems are positioned perfectly to take a lead role in that.

Unless China, USA and India start cutting emissions anything the smaller countries do to limit their emissions will likely dwarfed by the growth in these super polluter countries.

api 11y ago

Wouldn't the EU also rank if considered collectively?

thinkcontext 11y ago
Yes, the EU will need to cut its emissions but it has a cap and trade system and political leaders are generally on board with the need to remake their economies without carbon. In addition, it is miles ahead of the US in terms of emissions. According to this article, in 2013, the EU had per capita emissions of 6.8 tons/person versus 16.5 for the US. Even more startling, it was lower than China, which weighed in at 7.2. http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29239194 http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29239194

jussij 11y ago

And unless we stop thinking about this as a countries issue rather than a issue for humanity then we are all doomed.

ps4fanboy 11y ago
Until countries give up their sovereignty it will always be a country issue.
- jussij 11y ago
  I don't think the problem is sovereignty. The problem is vested interests, wealth and greed. I have no doubt that given the will, the problem of climate change is not an overly hard problem to fix. We humans have always been good at problem solving. We just need those vested interest to get out of the way and let that happen.

mdorazio 11y ago

Slightly more nuanced point: US emissions are actually down from their peak by quite a bit [1]. The problem is that developing countries like China are rapidly increasing their emissions to US per capita levels [2] while the rest of the world's emissions aren't dropping fast enough to compensate. At this point it's pretty inevitable that world CO2 levels are going to continue rising for many years. [1] https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/co2.html https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/co2.ht... [2] http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC/countries/CN?display=graph http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC/countries...

jseliger 11y ago
The problem is that developing countries like China are rapidly increasing their emissions to US per capita levels I've also read that many of China's emissions come from producing products for export, such that the U.S. may be shedding official omissions by shifting production to China, which allows the emissions to be counted there even though the final product ends up being used in the U.S.

erikpukinskis 11y ago

That's not really how it works. Small countries can make massive differences by improving technology, updating best practices, and doing research that can help illuminate the path forward. We desperately need a clearer picture of what the climate change timeline is going to look like, and how to approach each step, given immensely complicated cultural realities. People in smaller countries with good education systems are positioned perfectly to take a lead role in that.