14 DAY TRIAL // China came up with a very surprising proposal at the UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, saying that it would agree to a system where carbon limits would be set by means of establishing per capita emission levels for every man, woman and child on the planet. For example, the nation argues that a 2.33 tonnes of carbon cap for each individual in the world would virtually force rich nations to buy allowances from poorer nations, which emit less.
African countries, some of which are still crudely underdeveloped, produce as little as 1 tonne of carbon per inhabitant, whereas people in the US already reached an average of 20 tonnes per capita. This would mean that the US, in order to produce its current amount of pollution, would have to pay such poor countries large amounts of money, so as to buy emission rights from them.
This system would be a part of a larger effort, aimed at reducing the levels of greenhouse gas emissions by half, as opposed to their current levels, by 2050. Technically, it would benefit the more populous countries over the others, because, in abstract terms, China will still emit more than the US under the new bill, even if they both have the 2.33 tonnes of carbon cap. India and China, both with over 1 billion citizens, will have a larger room for respecting the new legislation, if it passes.
Estimates say that China will remain at the 2.33 mark until 2050, even if it just recently moved ahead of the US as the world's largest polluter. The Chinese report also says that there should be some minor exceptions to the overall rules, citing Russia as an example. It argues that the nation, due to its geographical placement, is more prone to experiencing cold weather and that it should be allowed to emit slightly more, so that it could offer heating to its citizens.
Whether the Chinese proposal will be accepted or not is still just speculation at the moment. The Poznan talks will have to find a common ground between all 190 participants, if a solution to the global problem of climate change is to be found and implemented until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit.