Change for China

With all of the discussion of energy saving this and green that, what are people around the world actually doing to combat global warming? The UN Summit for Climate Change met this past Tuesday, September 22, at the UN headquarters in New York in hopes of drafting a treaty proposal to be signed in December at the UN Climate Conference. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who chaired the summit, stressed that “now is the moment to act in common cause” to create a greener world and to aid developing countries in reducing emissions.

This summit has led President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao to actually agree on something. Although China currently has the highest carbon dioxide emissions in the world, Hu promised that Chinese greenhouse gas emissions would slow within the next ten years. China plans to use renewable resources to generate 15 percent of its energy, and further intends to plant over 300,000 square kilometers of trees. This commitment to cleaner energy comes as a surprise to most of the international community, as China has primarily focused on maintaining its economic growth rather than protecting its environment. Hu did not give any details about how China is going to decrease emissions, causing many countries to doubt China’s sincerity.

The United States is among these disbelievers. Although the United States produces the second-highest amount of carbon dioxide emissions in the world, it is asking for exact figures explaining what China is going to do. But there’s a whiff of hypocrisy here--Obama failed to give any concrete figures of his own. This new policy from China has now “added pressure on the United States and other developed countries to accept deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions”. In response, President Obama has tried to put the pressure back on China by arguing that rapidly developing nations “will need to commit to strong measures at home and agree to stand behind those commitments just as the developed nations must stand behind their own” (guardian.co.uk).

Although some countries may not believe it, much of the world is applauding China’s actions. Al Gore and UN Chief Ki-Moon have both lauded China’s proposal. This is a large yet necessary step towards doing something about global climate change. China is finally moving in the right direction, no longer using its developing status as an excuse. In light of these high expectations, it will be interesting to see what becomes of President Hu’s plans at the convention in Copenhagen this December. Maybe the world is finally moving together in the right direction.

LUCY EMERSON