14 DAY TRIAL // In a gesture of good will towards the international community, China published just a few days ago its emission-cut goals, just a couple of weeks ahead of the UN Summit on Climate Change, to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark. The country is one of the few large polluters around the world that have become actively engaged in the fight against climate change and global warming, alongside countries such as the United Kingdom. To be appreciated is the fact that China made its promises regardless of the terms that the United States set for themselves, which makes the decisions all the more commendable.
Officials in Beijing announce that they plan to cut emissions by 40 to 50 percent – depending on possibilities –, as opposed to 2005 levels. Their plan calls for this to happen over the next ten years, by 2020 at the latest. According to Quentin Sommerville, a BBC News expert in Beijing, this does not necessarily mean that the carbon-dioxide levels will start dropping. He explains that the country prefers measuring pollution in carbon intensity, which is a concept referring to how much carbon is being emitted for each unit of GDP. At this point, the country's economy largely grows based on toxic emissions from coal-powered electrical plants.
This is further made obvious by the fact that, right now, the Asian nation is well ahead of the United States in terms of pollution, and occupies the world's first place. Sommerville adds that the current levels of Chinese emissions are very likely to grow over the next two decades, when specialists estimate that they will peak. It will be only after that point that the country will be able to take an active commitment to reducing its pollution levels. According to Party officials, the Chinese Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao, will also attend the climate talks, to be held between December 7-18 in Copenhagen.
Most analysts say that they are unsure that an agreement will be reached this year. Though the stakes are incredibly high – finding a successor for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and ultimately saving the planet and out health –, rich and poor nations are highly unlikely to come to an agreement on the most important issues at hand. These problems include rich nations deciding to fund poorer ones for environmental preservation, such as, for instance, stopping deforestation in tropical rain forests.