China Will Not Accept Binding GHG Cuts, Official Announces After Talks With US - AFP

Game, set, match.

China will not accept binding cuts in its greenhouse gas emissions, an official said Thursday, after the United States said it made progress with Beijing in talks here on a global climate pact. The comments came after a visit by US climate change envoy Todd Stern aimed at pressing the Asian giant to commit to hard numbers on emissions reductions ahead of December talks in Copenhagen on a new global warming treaty.

"China is still a developing country and the present task confronting China is to develop its economy and alleviate poverty, as well as raise the living standard of its people," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters. "Given that, it is natural for China to have some increase in its emissions, so it is not possible for China in that context to accept a binding or compulsory target."

China and the United States are the world's two largest emitters of greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Earlier, the United States issued a statement describing the meetings as "a step in the right direction on the road to Copenhagen and to charting a global path to a clean energy future."

"We deepened our dialogue with our Chinese counterparts through a candid discussion of the challenges we must overcome and the opportunities we must seize if we and the world are to reach an international climate agreement," it said.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/2007/090611101911.hphr2k5z.html

Good thing they "deepened their dialogue", huh?

:eyes:

They're eating our lunch now! Go into Home Depot, Sears, Walmart or most other large retailers and try to find products that aren't made in China.

We'd be morons to accept a deal where they don't match anything we do with GHG's

According to the CIA - World Factbook
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/CH.html
China has per capita GDP of $6,000 (2008 est.) That rates it #132 of #229. It's just that there are 1,338,612,968 (2009 est.) of them. That compares to $31,900 (2008 est.) for Taiwan.

It's easy to have a growing economy when you start at zero.

... will our pollution be 'OK' too? That seems to be the direction in which we are going.

This is a prime example of Prisoner's Dilemma game theory at work. Nobody wants to risk getting the sucker's payoff, so they all want some other sucker to concede first.

Have I mentioned lately that we're fucked?

I can almost see it, just beyond my grasp...

:eyes:

whales and birds and people?

What is so difficult about that to understand?

Who is going to buy your crap when they're dead?

Can you imagine what even a 20% mortality rate would do to the economy? And that would be getting off easy.

this situation reminds me of
the 'Upper Class Twit of the Year Contest'.

I just don't want the US economy to
earn a pedastil position.


China Europe Japan, need to be
the medalists

A story ran yesterday on Huffington post that said China would sign a climate deal if the U.S. agreed to give it "top-of-the-line" technology to help combat its carbon emissions. What this top end technology is, I would love to know.

Here is the story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/11/china-wants-top-us-techno_n_214501.html