News China Urges US to sign the Kyoto Treaty

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China's Sun Guoshun emphasized that the country is already making efforts to reduce pollution, arguing it is unfair to expect China and India, with their large populations and economic challenges, to limit energy consumption. He expressed disappointment that the U.S. has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol, highlighting the significance of its high total and per capita emissions. The discussion took place during a conference in Montreal attended by over 8,000 participants, including environmentalists and government officials. Some participants criticized the Kyoto Protocol for seemingly favoring China by imposing stricter regulations on the U.S., suggesting this could give China a competitive edge in the global economy. Concerns were raised about the implications of China's coal consumption being a major source of CO2 emissions. The conversation also touched on U.S. emissions and the potential impact of legislation on environmental regulations, with questions about the involvement of Kyoto signatories in nuclear power development.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051201/ap_on_re_ca/canada_climate_change
China's Sun Guoshunis said his country was already cutting the polluting emmisions, adding it was unfair to expect China and India — with the world's largest populations — to ask their impoverished people to cut back on energy consumption.
"We really feel pity that the U.S. has not yet, and is not going to join the Kyoto Protocol, not only because of the size of its total emissions, but also because of its higher per capita emissions," Sun, director of the Department of Treaty and Law at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
He spoke during the first meeting of the 140 countries that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol since it was signed in 1997 and went into effect in February.
More than 8,000 environmentalists, scientists and government officials were attending the 10-day conference in Montreal. Some 120 environment ministers and other government leaders were expected to arrive next week for the final negotiations.
Those countries are missing out on the moolah. :smile:
 
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Why wouldn't China urge the U.S. to adopt the protocols which essentially exempt China while placing severe restrictions on the U.S.? It's a crafty way to keep your labor costs low in a competitive world economy while placing your competitors at a decided disadvantage.
 
Are all these environmentalists just oblivious to the insanely obvious implications when it comes to China's role in the treaty?
 
Aren't the burning coal layers in China the biggest source of Co2 in the world?
But then again, you really can't do much about that.
But true, The US could cut down a bit on fuel consumption.
 
I'm pretty sure the US is #1 in CO2 emissions. This isn't about the US cutting emissions, this is about giving China a free pass to pollute at will. We already cut regulations based on our own legislation
 
I wonder how much natural fires contribute to the GHG composition of the atmosphere.
 
Pengwuino said:
I'm pretty sure the US is #1 in CO2 emissions. This isn't about the US cutting emissions, this is about giving China a free pass to pollute at will. We already cut regulations based on our own legislation
Legislation allows you to cut regulations? What's that supposed to mean?
 
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That looks like a typo - I'm sure he meant to say legislation is causing cuts in emissions.
 
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Does anyone know how many of the Kyoto signatories aren't actively developing nuclear power?
 

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