China: Our Emissions Are Your Problem, Not Ours
A top Chinese official said that China is not responsible for its emissions: the countries that import its products are. China’s top climate negotiator Li Gao said that any fair international agreement to curb greenhouse gases should not require China to reduce the emissions it released to manufacture exported goods.
China has surpassed the United States as the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. But Gao said that 15-25% of its emissions are generated by manufacturing goods for export. “As one of the developing countries, we are at the low end of the production line for the global economy. We produce products, and these products are consumed by other countries. … This share of emissions should be taken by the consumers, but not the producers," Gao said.
China’s stance could be one of many stumbling blocks facing the countries that hope to broker a new international emissions treaty in Copenhagen in December. Neither China nor the U.S. ratified the last agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.