The prospect of an agreement on effective global climate control has become more of a pipedream than a reality. The hypocrisy with which some political leaders talk about wanting an agreement yet do everything they can to make an agreement impossible never ceases to amaze me. On the one hand we have the USA saying they will not enter any agreement unless it includes India and China, which seems fair enough, until you read the smallprint. The USA wants to have a ‘per country’ quota of CO2 emissions. In practice what this means is that India and China with their populations numbering in the billions will have to slow their economic development and keep their people in poverty. India has insisted they will only accept an agreement that is on a ‘per citizen’ basis, which in practice will allow them to grow their economy and bring millions out of poverty.
At the moment the average American accounts for 15 times more CO2 emissions than the average Indian. India has room for growth using this criteria, but not under the US criteria. Is it fair to expect India and China to stay underdeveloped with many millions of their people in poverty while we in the West live in comparative luxury? Should we not do more to redress the imbalance? How far are we prepared to go to save the planet and ultimately our selves?
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