It’s a very clumsy analogy, but it does have a fair point. CO2 is a proxy for standard of living, and some countries have a lot more room to cut fat than others.
While China emits almost 3x as much net CO2 as the USA, getting China to the global average emissions of 4.7 tons/person would only have ~1.5x the effect of getting everyone in the US to that level, while affecting over four times as many people.
As a hyperbolic example, getting everyone in the US to be vegetarian half-time with no other lifestyle changes would have roughly the same carbon savings as making the combined populations of Nigeria and Kenya (roughly equal to US population) completely carbon neutral, while also being way more economically feasible.
Not who you’ve been arguing with, I’m someone else.
And yes, a bunch of governments made bad decisions and almost everyone needs to change. But pretending like everyone needs to change equally, or only China needs to do better, are both dumb takes. Yeah China needs to do better, but policy and lifestyle-wise not as much better as the US or Australia, or hell yeah Qatar. If all of Qatar’s scant 3 million people went carbon neutral, it would be equivalent to a full 10% of the entire continent of Africa doing so. That’s one country’s policy and culture causing as much damage as the collective efforts of the smallest African 31 countries combined, most of which are larger than Qatar.
China may be the biggest emiter on net, but per capital it’s not particularly egregious, which means, and stick with me here because it’s the important part you aren’t getting, there don’t need to be as extreme policy and lifestyle changes in China to lower total emissions as a country like Qatar, which basically has to restructure everything from the ground up.
i give up, you genuinely think qatar going carbon neutral makes a difference as china installs 59 new coal power plants and emits another 6 trillion tons of co2
It’s a very clumsy analogy, but it does have a fair point. CO2 is a proxy for standard of living, and some countries have a lot more room to cut fat than others.
While China emits almost 3x as much net CO2 as the USA, getting China to the global average emissions of 4.7 tons/person would only have ~1.5x the effect of getting everyone in the US to that level, while affecting over four times as many people.
As a hyperbolic example, getting everyone in the US to be vegetarian half-time with no other lifestyle changes would have roughly the same carbon savings as making the combined populations of Nigeria and Kenya (roughly equal to US population) completely carbon neutral, while also being way more economically feasible.
Worth looking up why China is building coal power plants like there’s no tomorrow (literally)
But you know who really needs to get their shit together? Qatar! Currently highest co2 emitter per capita:
It’s pretty clear who the real eco terrorist in this picture is! Unreal Qatar, you’re going to kill us all!
Not who you’ve been arguing with, I’m someone else.
And yes, a bunch of governments made bad decisions and almost everyone needs to change. But pretending like everyone needs to change equally, or only China needs to do better, are both dumb takes. Yeah China needs to do better, but policy and lifestyle-wise not as much better as the US or Australia, or hell yeah Qatar. If all of Qatar’s scant 3 million people went carbon neutral, it would be equivalent to a full 10% of the entire continent of Africa doing so. That’s one country’s policy and culture causing as much damage as the collective efforts of the smallest African 31 countries combined, most of which are larger than Qatar.
China may be the biggest emiter on net, but per capital it’s not particularly egregious, which means, and stick with me here because it’s the important part you aren’t getting, there don’t need to be as extreme policy and lifestyle changes in China to lower total emissions as a country like Qatar, which basically has to restructure everything from the ground up.
i give up, you genuinely think qatar going carbon neutral makes a difference as china installs 59 new coal power plants and emits another 6 trillion tons of co2