China Poised to Lead in Climate Change

U.N. Climate Chief Says Beijing Leaping Ahead of U.S. in Plans for Renewable Energy, Efficiency, Pollution Cuts

(AP)  As the United States lags on climate legislation, the U.N. climate chief says China is poised to join the European Union in claiming "front-runner" status among nations battling climate change.

Yvo de Boer said in an Associated Press interview Monday that China is leaping ahead of the United States with domestic plans for more energy efficiency, renewable sources of power, cuts in vehicle pollution and closures of dirty plants.

"China and India have announced very ambitious national climate change plans. In the case of China, so ambitious that it could well become the front-runner in the fight to address climate change," de Boer said. "The big question mark is the U.S."

He spoke on the eve of a U.N. summit of 100 world leaders intended to rally momentum for crafting a new global climate pact at Copenhagen, Denmark in December. President Bush had rejected the 1997 Kyoto Protocol for cutting global emissions of warming gases based on its exclusion of major developing nations like China and India.

Chinese President Hu Jintao will announce new plans to fight global warming at a U.N. summit on climate change on Tuesday. China already has said it is seeking to use 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.

U.N. Climate Change Conference 2009: Copenhagen (Official Site)

China and the U.S. together account for about 40 percent of all the world's emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other industrial warming gases.

De Boer said he also was encouraged by Japan's new goal of a 25 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2020.

President Barack Obama has been trying to build momentum for a new climate pact to succeed the Kyoto accord that required mandatory cuts in atmospheric warming gases expires but expires at the end of 2012. His administration has announced a target of returning to 1990 levels of greenhouse emissions by 2020.

(Left: U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke (center) chats with Chinese officers as he visits a turbine inside the China Resources Golden Concord-Co-generation Plant in Beijing, July 15, 2009. Its combined gas-steam turbines reduced the plant's emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides by more than 2,300 tons a year.)

But with Congress moving slowly on a measure to curb emissions, the United States could soon find itself with little influence when 120 countries convene in Copenhagen.

The U.N. summit on climate change Tuesday and the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh at the end of this week are intended to add pressure the United States and other rich nations to commit to cuts and cough up billions of dollars to help developing nations install new technologies and take other actions to adapt to climate change.

The House passed a bill this year that would set the United States' first federal mandatory limits on greenhouse gases. Factories, power plants and other sources would be required to cut emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and by 83 percent by mid-century. (Senate action is still pending.)

The EU is urging other rich countries to match its pledge to cut emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels by 2020, and has said it would cut up to 30 percent if other rich countries follow suit.

A new climate report released Monday by a climate initiative led by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair says 10 million jobs could be created by 2020, if developing nations agree to big cuts in greenhouse gases.

The initiative by Blair and the London-based Climate Group said it hoped the new research would help break the "deadlock" in global climate talks.

"Cutting the Cost: The Economic Benefits of Collaborative Climate Action"

The report is based on computer modeling by Cambridge University economists. It also shows a global climate agreement could increase the world's GDP by 0.8 percent by 2020, as compared with the projected gross domestic product with no climate action.

"In economic terms, certainly in the medium and long-term, it's hugely to our economic benefit to get a global agreement," he told reporters at a New York hotel Sunday.

(Left: A chimney emits smokes at a factory in Zhenhai, Zhejiang Province, China on June 3, 2009. China recently surpassed the United States as the world's leading emitter of greenhouse gases.)

Blair acknowledged the pain of short-term investment, particularly during a global financial crisis, but called the upcoming Copenhagen negotiations "the moment when we move from a campaign to a policy program."

Blair also said climate change was one key area where his ideas diverged from those of President Bush, whose administration claimed for years the Kyoto accord would have cost the U.S. economy 5 million jobs if Mr. Bush had not rejected it.

"I can't say I ever investigated that particular claim in detail," said Blair, who was Mr. Bush's closest ally on the Iraq war - a stance that ultimately contributed to Blair's decline in popularity at home and his stepping down as both Labor Party leader and prime minister.

"But all I can tell you from our perspective in the U.K. - and if you look at the rest of Europe - we have not been losing jobs as a result of taking action on climate change. If anything, we've been gaining jobs."

[red-roses]

Nothing to do with climate change although it's extemely important. Anyway, remember when george bush ran away in the plane when the 9/11 tragedy happened only to show up a few days later to give his phony photo op performance at ground zero speaking through the blow horn? You could tell that he never gave a damn for those who perished on the fatal day. In fact, you were able to tell that the crocodile tears he squirted at the t.v cameras during his performance at ground zero were tears of joy and not of sorrow? And if you recall george bush gave another one of his phony photo op performances when he showed up in New Orleans a year after the devastating hurricane happened. You were able to tell that his showing up in New Orleans was merely for show and not because he cared.


"Admiral Kelly, Captain Card, officers and sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln, my fellow Americans, major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed." ~ another grandiose lie from the apathetic, egotistical hypocrite and lying coward bush, MAY 1,2003

"bush lands on the aircraft carrier strutting his stuff, and I have a hard time walking. How dare you! That's how I look at the president. How dare you! It amazes me how he does it with a smile too."
--Fields Black, 33, a Persian Gulf veteran breathing through
an oxygen tube because of his emphysema.


And another little glimpse from the past..

A Soldier?s View of the Iraq War March 5, 2004

I am a cavalry scout in the United States Army. I am stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas. We returned home Tuesday and I would like to comment on this war from a specialized soldier?s eyes. I honestly think the president lied to all of us. After seeing first hand what was in most parts of Iraq, my whole company could not fathom a threat of any means. I love America, and will defend her when called upon, but in this case there was not a real threat. By the way, the THANKSGIVING PHOTO-OP at the airport was only open to pro-Bush soldiers. We were screened unknowingly about four days before he showed up in secret. We didn?t know he was coming, but looking back, all the questions we were asked were designed to weed out the antiwar soldiers.

The above were just a few of the many photo op performances egotistical george bush gave during his presidency. By the way, in the not too distant future get ready for an intelligently written satirical tragicomedy movie to be made of this very very sad episode in recent history?

ADIOS..

[rf35]

"The U.N. summit on climate change Tuesday and the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh at the end of this week are intended to add pressure the United States and other rich nations to commit to cuts and cough up billions of dollars to help developing nations install new technologies and take other actions to adapt to climate change."

Who's a rich country? Not the United States. I'm all for developing renewable energy technology and cutting emissions, but I am NOT for handing out billions of dollars to these "developing nations." These countries are "developing" us out of jobs while standing there expecting handouts from us like they are for some reason entitled to everything we can manage to give them and more. BTW, I don't give a crap about climate change. It's going to happen with or without us cutting greenhouse gasses. I AM interested in energy independence and clean air and water for this country.

[supergerbil]

The idea that China will take a lead-role battling climate change is not far-fetched. China and other energy-importing countries could quickly move ahead of coal exporters such as Australia and the US because it is in their national interest to increase energy efficiency as fast as possible. (Japan took the lead over the US in producing efficient motor vehicles for the same reason.)

It is not difficult for any country to significantly lower carbon dioxode emissions. For example:
1. Switching from coal to gas power generation cuts CO2 emissions from 1,000kg per MWh to 400kg per MWh.
2. Then switching from electric hot water and space heating to heat pumps (with a 3:1 performance co-efficient) results in CO2 emissions being slashed to just 130kg per MWh.

THAT IS AN 87% REDUCTION in emissions over coal-fired power generation for these major energy uses - with little or no difficulty.

Coal producers and exporters would prefer that these efficiency gains not happen - because they cut demand for coal. These narrow interest groups might prefer to disseminate fear and doubt to delay change. Some not-too-difficult questions forwarded to the Australian Coal Association 6 months ago, with an offer to help with planning effective change, have gone unanswered. Coal producers have shown little enthusiasm in fostering efficienct energy use.

See this web page: "http://www.gerbilnow.com/home/questions-to-theaustralian-coal-association"

US-based "GreatPoint Energy" landed large coal gasification contracts for its US-developed technology - with China (not the US).

[lmartink]

You don't get it. This is a very smart move by China. While our screamers, and nay-sayers dominate the news, we will delay the changes we need to make to lead the world in developing the new technologies.

By the time we are ready to act, China will already be producing the new technologies, and we will end up buying it from them.

Brilliant move by China. A horrible mistake for a weakening United States. They win, we lose again. Not a good situation.

[rexrox2]

China to Lead on Climate Change, Iran says Not Building Nuclear Weapons, Russia will Respect New Freedoms of Former Soviet States and Eastern Europe, Chavez Needs To Be President For Life, to Help the Poor, North Korea Wants to Talk With Neighbors to Improve Relations With Neighbors, Castro Brothers Will Consider Freeing Political Prisoners,Libya will stay out of Terror Game and Keep Their Word with Obama. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. Do you think we're a bunch of idiots. Thanks for this ground-breaking, research driven bulletin to the American Citizens.