China says Climate change is a fact

[JohnB]

A deputy director of China's most powerful economic ministry has come out swinging against climate change denial.

Senior Chinese government figures have described the view that climate change is not man-made as an "extreme" stance which is out of step with mainstream thought.

http://www.radioaustralianews.net.au/st ... tm?desktop

[kenneal - lagger]

Xie Zhenhua, a deputy director at China's powerful economic ministry, the National Development and Reform Commission,................ He said the responsibility for this climate change rested squarely with the Western world, so the onus was on it to clean up the mess caused in the rush to industrialisation.

We are doing something at the moment, we are reducing our consumption of Chinese made goods as well as, sort of, trying to reduce our own fossil fuel consumption. We have to permanently reduce our consumption of Chinese made goods and others, though, to really make a difference; permanent negative growth is required. They won't like that.

[Quintus]

China may say climate change is a fact, but they don't seem to want to do anything about it. I've just come here after reading an article in the Ecologist in which China's position is summed up as follows:

China, India, South Africa:

Not willing to subject actions to a strong regime under any circumstances; not willing to negotiate its own mitigation actions internationally; not particularly concerned about making its level of mitigation consistent with a 50 per cent reduction in global emissions by 2050

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_r ... perts.html

[kenneal - lagger]

The big problem for everyone is that to reduce fossil fuel consumption by 80% by 2050, and that 80% is probably an underestimate, the whole world, on present consumption rates per economic unit, would have to reduce its economic activity to that of the average Chinese peasant.

That would destroy the Chinese government let alone any Western one. So the Chinese are carrying on with BAU for as long as possible in the hope that some new technology can save them. Let's just hope the whole economic system does the "Good Thing" and collapses first.