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CO2 emission per capita (2013): USA 16.5 t China 7.6 t So better turn off your electronic devices etc. NOW.

• mikeash 10y ago
  We are not talking about CO2 emissions here....
  • maxerickson 10y ago
    You did write If we're talking about reducing CO2 emissions, then yes, further cutting emissions in the US is probably not going to do much good compared to putting similar effort into China. I think it's fair to point out that the US cutting emissions could have a larger impact than China limiting increases (at least on a per capita basis).
    • mikeash 10y ago
      The only relevant question for that part is: for each dollar spent (or other measure of wealth/effort), how much reduction do you get in each place? I'd wager that you get much more bang for your buck in China. The US is much more efficient at generating wealth from CO2 emissions: our emissions are about half, while our GDP is somewhat larger. China still has a lot of low-hanging fruit when it comes to cutting CO2 emissions. In any case, per-capita doesn't matter at all unless you want to come at it from a moral angle.
    • TylerE 10y ago
      Per capita is a FOOLISH measure here. China's population is more than 4x ours and rapidly growing AND urbanizing.
      • maxerickson 10y ago
        I disagree. It's a good way of evaluating what someone in the US is asking of the Chinese when they say that the Chinese should do more to limit emissions. They are asking the people in China to do with less than they have. It certainly shouldn't be the only measure that gets discussion.