An article by John Richardson in the May 7-13 issue of ICIS Chemical Business reports that China will surpass the United States as the leading emitter of Greenhouse gases by the end of 2007, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). I wasn’t able to trace the actual IEA report down, but perhaps some sleuth out in the blogosphere can find it.  More details can be found in this article in the Guardian.

I was amused by this quote in the Scotsman–

In a separate briefing yesterday, Jiang Yu, of China’s foreign ministry, said Beijing was willing to play its part in curbing greenhouse gases from industry, agriculture and vehicles. But she said that wealthy countries bore the blame, and the solution lay in their hands.

“It must be pointed out that climate change has been caused by the long-term historic emissions of developed countries and their high per-capita emissions. Developed countries bear an unshirkable responsibility,” Ms Jiang said, adding they should “lead the way in assuming responsibility for emissions cuts”.

I’d like to suggest to Ms Jiang to ask a few of her countrymen who did their graduate work and post-docs in the USA to pitch in on the problem.  China has benefitted in no small way from her citizens taking their education in the USA and helping to generate the very technology that has contributed to our greenhouse gas emissions.  The cause of our prodigous CO2 emission is our great facility with converting combustion gas expansion into torque. This torque drives the wheels and generators of civilization. 

Chinese citizens have benefitted personally through our university/research complex, their graduate stipends often funded by US tax dollars.  The Chinese nation has benefitted collectively with the help of returning students by manufacturing the inventions of the Wright Brothers, Mr Westinghouse, Th. Edison, Philo Farnsworth, Lee De Forest, Edwin Armstrong, Jack Kilby, the Steves Jobs and Wozniak.  These are just a few of the Americans. Then there is a whole crop of Germans, Brits, French, Russians, Japanese, Canadians, Dutch, Scandinavians, Swiss, etc. You get the point. 

The great engine that drives China’s economic boom is in large part leveraged from technologies developed elsewhere- television, radio, computers, cars, chemistry, medicine, etc.  I would say that Chinese society has benefitted significantly from these high consumption, CO2 belching societies that they now point their fingers at. 

I’m glad to see China boosting the standard of living and enjoying the benefits of technological society.  But, Chinese leaders should shut their pie holes and pitch in to solve the problem.  They should remember that the electrical devices and the copper from their smelters afford “high per capita” exports to foreign consumers which helps to sustain our “high per capita emissions”.  There are no clean hands in this matter.