How Serious is China About Climate Change?

Many world leaders felt Chinese negotiators, including the Premier, were acting as obstructionists at the Copenhagen Conference of the Parties (COP) in December. Now, in an address to the media, Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, says he actually felt snubbed at Copenhagen.

One of the biggest points of contention was that Wen skipped a meeting of the world's top leaders in the waning days of the conference. In his addres, Wen said he was not aware of the meeting and that criticism of China hijacking the proceedings at Copenhagen are absurd. He also said China is committed to the Copenhagen Accord, which it helped craft along with leaders from South Africa, Brazil, India, and the US.

The fact that China recently signed on to the Accord indicates that China is still serious about international climate negotiations. Wen's statements further this position. While developed countries such as the US and England want China to take on similar emissions responsibilities to the rest of the developed world, it might not make the most sense. A recent report indicates that developed countries are outsourcing a large portion of their emissions to developing countries, particularly China.

China has benefited from those emissions through strong economic growth and a better quality of life for it citizens. While China has argument that developed countries should take on a greater burden in mitigating the effects of climate change holds some water, the economic benefits China has realized from accepting the role of the number one place to outsource emissions should not come without consequences.

If Wen's statement is to be taken at face value, then China should take on a greater role at COP16 in Cancun. Reducing carbon intensity, which the Chinese government has proposed, is not enough. China needs to be serious about finding way to reduce actual emissions. Remembering that all parties have the same goal should help the Chinese government find common ground with developed and other emerging economies like India, Brazil, and South Africa in setting up common but differentiated responsibilities.

Polluting Firms Will Be Charged In the US

In an attempt to curb the harmful effects of climate change, the San Francisco Bay Area passed a new rule that will require business organizations to pay a fee on the basis of the amount of carbon dioxide they emit. Under this new rule, big greenhouse gas emitters will have to pay over 50,000 dollars every year, otherwise less than 1 dollar will be charged to most firms. Due to this rule more than 2500 business organizations got affected. While some experts believe that this move will act as an effective model for all states in the US, others are of view that it might pose hindrance in exercising tougher emission targets across California.

This rule has been considered first of its kind in the United States. Voted in by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District of San Francisco, this fee covers nine counties and 2500 small as well as large businesses. Companies measure and report emission levels before they are charged 4.4 cents for each ton of CO2 released by them. Oil refineries and power plants in San Francisco will be the biggest payers as they are the largest emitter of greenhouse gases across the world.

Recently, a fees was attached to greenhouse gas emission by the State of California and by the end of this year, the state will also start charging companies for greenhouse gas emission. The main objective of imposing this fee is to help the state pay for its regulatory expenses that come along with the greenhouse gas reduction goals announced recently. Approximately 400 companies producing, refining, using or distributing coal, natural gas, electricity and oil will be affected by this fee. A plan has been proposed to bring down the rate of emission 25% by the end of 2020. If implemented in a proper manner, this new rule will help the state of California raise over 63 million dollars in the first year. The companies that have been targeted under this new rule represent more than 85% of greenhouse gas emissions in California.