On Thursday December 3rd, India became the last major country to announce a climate change policy. India ranks fifth in the world in carbon dioxide emissions, accounting for 4.7 percent of the world's emissions. India plans to reduce the ratio of pollution by 20-25 percent less than 2005 levels. Unfortunately, India's Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh would not accept a legally binding emissions reduction target. Many argue that the vowed emission reductions by India, China, and the US are weak and less than each nations ability to reduce their emissions.
According to the European Union, global emissions need to peak by 2020 and then be cut more than half under the 1990 levels by mid-century in order to keep an increase of global temperatures under two degrees. While most developed nations have agreed to drastically cut their emissions, the US is only reducing their emissions by 17 percent under 2005 levels which is only about 4 percent less than 1990 emissions.
This issue of top nations that are reducing their emissions at a much smaller amount than their ability is a huge one in which we will all lose in the end. When speaking about the US and China, the head of the UN Environment Program said, "I still think the number put forward by some countries are not the ceiling, they are more like the floor, of what they can offer." I applaud India, China, and the US for finally agreeing to reduce their carbon output. However, I do think that their emissions can be reduced much more drastically.
While I am happy that we finally have a climate change policy, I am in disbelief with the small goal that America has set for its emission reductions. Although their emissions cuts are just as weak as America, both China, whose greenhouse emissions will continue to grow despite their carbon reduction, and India vowed to cut their "carbon intensity" by 40-45 percent and 20-25 percent respectively; both their goals are higher than America's. I would argue that America should cut carbon emissions by 20-25 percent, at the very least. Overall, I think there should be a minimum level of carbon emission cuts for all nations of the world. If there was a minimum requirement that would allow all nations to be on the same page and would, most likely, allow for a cleaner world without higher temperatures.
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In your last paragraph you state that you think that all nations should be required to reach a minimum reduction to carbon emissions. Would this plan be fair to developing nations that do not have the wealth or technological development seen in the highly industrialized nations?
ReplyDeleteWe have seen throughout the last century that most nations do not have the will or means to implement environmental initiatives until they have reached a certain level of development.
If all nations were held to the same standard when facing emissions cuts, the development of these countries could be put on hold, keeping them in their current situation of poverty and resource exploitation rather than advancement and stewardship.