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>Your argument basically seems to boil down to "the most polluting country can't reduce use of its most polluting energy source because other countries exist an
by htss2013 3y ago
>Your argument basically seems to boil down to "the most polluting country can't reduce use of its most polluting energy source because other countries exist and emit anything at all".
It's more like your argument forgot to account for fossil fuel demand elasticity and the reason why the developing world emits less CO2 per capita. It's not because they are enlightened minimalists who care more. It's because they are being outbid by the developed world.
For every amount the developed world cuts fossil fuel usage, it makes it cheaper for everyone else to buy. Price goes down, demand goes up. Usage doesn't go down, it shifts. This is a self defeating strategy. Your theory of global emissions reduction only works if no one changes their behavior in response to supply/demand changes.
- dbhere 3y agoYes, I'm sure that demand for West Virginia's coal is perfectly elastic between US power plants also located in the Midwest and ones in India and Africa that haven't been built yet.
- htss2013 3y agoFossil fuels are priced on a global futures markets. Did you think Canadian oil producers exist in a vacuum where Qatari production, or Indian demand, has no effect on them? Whether Canadian oil actually makes it to India doesn't matter.
- dbhere 3y agoYou clearly know nothing about the coal trade.
- dang 3y agoHey, could you please review the site guidelines and stick to them when posting to HN? I'm afraid your comment here broke them rather badly. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html If you know more than someone else, that's great, but in that case please share some of what you know—without putdowns or snark—so the rest of us can learn: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&sort=byDate&type=comment&query=share%20know%20learn%20by:dang https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&sor...