Washblog || China Wrecked Copenhagen Deal

China Wrecked Copenhagen Deal

By zappini
Wed Dec 23, 2009 at 12:03:09 PM PST
Section: United States Topic: Climate Change

According to this first hand account, China wrecked the climate change negotiations at the Copenhagen conference. China's economic growth requires coal. They are understandably reluctant to change.

Fine. The correct response is to place a 100% tariff on Chinese imports.

China needs us more than we need them. We can make our own stuff. Whereas China has no one else to buy all their stuff.

China owns ~$800b of our debt. As we learned from Donald Trump, borrow enough and you own the bank. Let the dollar crash. China's advantage will disappear. A lower dollar leads to more American exports.

China will cry uncle when the economic pain causes more social unrest than they can manage. Perhaps 400m unemployed, angry Chinese citizens will suffice.

Then we say: Oops, big misunderstanding. Tell you what. You agree to meet these new improved aggressive emission reduction targets, we'll drop the tariffs. Everyone will be happy again. Deal?

[Edited to add cites for debt, unemployment. -- Jason]

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China Wrecked Copenhagen Deal | 4 comments (4 topical)

This Is Silly

The Chinese make their living from industrial production, much of it for the export market. If we don't want China to pollute, then we shouldn't buy their stuff. People will go to great lengths to "buy local" when it comes to a few measly vegetables, but don't think twice about buying non-food items made halfway around the world. That's ridiculous.
The Chinese need to build power plants - lots of power plants. The world, for that matter, needs to build lots of power plants. Either we can start building non-carbon-producing power plants - starting with nuclear plants - or we can just live with a warmer world.
There simply is no time for fancy, renewable technologies to stop climate change. Batteries and bicycles won't save us. We need terrawatts of non-carbon-producing electricity and hundreds of thousands of miles of new cable. We need a wired world.

Until we get to at least a theoretical, background consensus about re-investing in our industrial world (<u>not)</u> denying the need for one), all climate talks will fail.

by dlaw on Mon Dec 28, 2009 at 09:13:11 AM PST

* 1 none 0 *

Big by zappini, 12/28/2009 10:48:42 PM PST (none / 0)

"Race For Survival"? by dlaw, 12/29/2009 09:53:30 AM PST (none / 0)

the mix by m3047, 01/01/2010 11:46:32 PM PST (none / 0)

China Wrecked Copenhagen Deal | 4 comments (4 topical)

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