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China warns Trump against abandoning Paris climate agreement

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Raven117

Member
The pessimist in me thinks it's just because the US abandoning the Paris Climate Agreement would just give them a competitive business advantage (as in, China is using this as a ruse and don't really care about the environment at all.)
Sure it's pessimistic, but there are lots of political factors at play... And honestly... The actual concern over the planet is probably lower on the list for most of these players.
 

Apathy

Member
Never in my wildest dreams could I ever guess China of all places was the one going to fight for the side of reason when it can't to climate change against the US. Were through the looking glass here people
 

Nerdkiller

Membeur
Lol if Putin is pushing against climate change, Trump not going to be far off from "considering" another option from backing off on climate deals. Can't disappoint his boy!
But how will all the coal miners react if they see Trump rolling back on his "climate change hoax" statements?
 
The pessimist in me thinks it's just because the US abandoning the Paris Climate Agreement would just give them a competitive business advantage (as in, China is using this as a ruse and don't really care about the environment at all.)

That's bullshit though.

Even ignoring the Climate Change itself, there are social, geopolitical and economical reasons to move to renewable energy for China or all other countries.
 
Im glad China is pushing this so hard.

As they should be. Smog-filled Beijing makes Beijing, a city I love and would consider my second home, a bad city.

I mean I lived in northern Beijing and while most of the times the sky there was blue, as soon as you drove downtown, just 30-40km away from there, you couldnt even see 200m.
 

Spectone

Member
ANU academic Dr Luke Kemp is proposing a range of amendments to the Paris agreement to deal with 'renegade states'. These include punitive measures, such as trade restrictions and carbon border taxes to prevent 'free-riding', and the recognition of 'non-state' parties that would allow states like California to 'opt in' to UN climate finance arrangements and global carbon markets if the US does eventually 'opt out'.

Read more at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14693062.2016.1176007
 

Crayon

Member
The US is in the hands of this republican insurgency and they are bent on actually accelerating environmental damage.

I hate to say this but all other issues including destruction of our economy, social progress, civil war and international aggression are second to this situation. Our apparent trajectory and influence on climate change makes us the bad guys of the world. Or at least the most dangerous organization in the history of the world.

Any level of aggression against the us in the name of the climate issue would be justified by future generations whose existence depended on it.
 
I was going to write "that's really embarrassing", but then I remembered Trump and the people who voted him in wouldn't be embarrassed as they couldn't give two shits about climate change.
 

LQX

Member
Trump don't care.

China, US relations will be very interesting in the next few years. We might see who really needs who and who is really scared of who.
 

charliebear

Neo Member
Tbf China only started giving a shit when people's mouths started to be filled with clumps of LITERAL SMOG.

And at this point, Republicans will only start to do the same whenever that happens in th US

Much like the UK did in a way with the London smog. Stopped burning in the cities. Take s something to start somewhere.
 

Nikodemos

Member
There are good reasons for Putin to fear climate change.

Warmer weather causes permafrost to thaw, which has several unpleasant consequences.
When it melts, turbo-anthrax spores from 20.000 years ago reactivate; then the water dries off and the (infected) dust gets swept away by the winds. There have already been outbreaks caused by ancient anthrax.
Then the methane trapped in the muddy ice percolates upwards and enters the atmosphere: methane is four times as potent as CO2 at greenhouse effect; furthermore, it breaks down into more CO2 (and water vapour). Lastly, the decaying plant bits start rotting again as microbes gain purchase, producing even more fresh methane. Oh, and did I mention that the methane might catch fire?

And then there are the summertime forest fires. Since Russia is so vast, forest fires can quickly spread over thousands of hectares. A single year of heavy forest fires caused problems to Russia's food supply. Now imagine them as a yearly event.
 

AJLma

Member
With the EU and US gracefully bowing out, China steps up to their new role as the world's foremost morality authority.
 

RMI

Banned
Never in my wildest dreams could I ever guess China of all places was the one going to fight for the side of reason when it can't to climate change against the US. Were through the looking glass here people

YUP. This is fucking crazy times we live in. I can't believe I'm rooting for China to champion the cause of environmental protection. I guess they know better than most how bad it can get so I hope they can convince our worthless incoming leaders to get in line with the rest of the world on this topic.
 

youta

Member
It's not about being "good guys", at some point the welfare of your children (yes, the kids being born right now) starts to kick in.
 

koji kabuto

Member
If the US really abandons the Paris climate agreement, it wont just be Russia and China blaming the US...

There is clusters of other countries that under the direct political influence of Russia and China, That club accepts new joiners everyday, Philippines and Egypt are latest joiners.
If the US abandons the Paris climate agreement it won't be very difficult to blame the us for the expected thousands of deaths and billions lost due to climate change effect.
Which will lead to huge political, Economical and ethical problems for the US that i don't think Trump understand.
 

Detox

Member
Salute to China for saying they will go ahead with their green energy plans even if their competitors won't.
 

sphinx

the piano man
I don't get it...

I mean, isn't climate change something that can be measured, studied and confirmed by scientists? why does Trump have to believe China or any foreign country?

aren't there any american, white, male, straight scientists around him that can confirm or debunk the existence of climate change?
 

massoluk

Banned
China had a lot of recent rude wake-up call on environmental issues. Flood, pollution, smog, desertification, a lot of those in city areas or very near. They know they have to become more green
 
I don't get it...

I mean, isn't climate change something that can be measured, studied and confirmed by scientists? why does Trump have to believe China or any foreign country?

aren't there any american, white, male, straight scientists around him that can confirm or debunk the existence of climate change?

It's the same story with lead in the 50s and smoking in 90s. The industry is very big and doing it's damnedest to maintain their profits.
 
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