China Accuses Developed Countries of Hypocrisy

On Thursday, China's foreign ministry spokesman accused developed countries of hypocrisy and pointed out that China has low per-capita emissions, in response to a report from the Netherlands indicating that carbon dioxide emissions from China had surpassed those produced by the United States.

South Africa's Independent Online website quoted the foreign ministry spokesman as saying that the developed nations had relocated much of their manufacturing to China, so it is hypocritical for them to accuse China of producing too many emissions. He pointed out that some foreigners wear and eat Chinese products, but criticize China's pollution at the same time. He also indicated that China is taking measures to reduce global warming (a.k.a. climate change). Additionally, he attributed China's greater emissions to its large population, saying that people in the Netherlands produce three times as many per-capita emissions as Chinese people do.

According to a news story in the official People's Daily newspaper on Thursday, China's government has specified a goal of decreasing "pollutant discharges" ten percent by 2010, as well as making effort to improve energy efficiency and otherwise protect the environment. It also pointed out that the Kyoto Protocol does not require developing countries like China to reduce their emissions as it does for countries in developed regions like North America and Western Europe.

Meanwhile, a news story in Pakistan's Daily Times reported that China's Hong Kong territory is "choked" with pollution. It referred to thick smog and haze, sewage released into a bay, and a decline in some bird species. The news story quoted the chairman of an environmental group as saying that air quality in Hong Kong improved in the late '90s, but has worsened in recent years because of power generation plants changing over to coal. It also pointed out that Merill Lynch (a major investment bank) cautioned the air quality in Hong Kong could cause businesses to move to Singapore because non-Chinese workers might become unwilling to live there.

As indicated by Wikipedia.org, the nations of Russia, India, Japan, and Germany follow the United States and China in carbon dioxide emissions. Out of two-hundred and eleven countries, China ranks 99th in per-capita emissions, while the Netherlands ranks 43rd and the U.S. eleventh. Interestingly, the countries with the very highest per-capita emissions include several Caribbean and Pacific islands (Aruba, Guam, Trinidad and Tobago, others), as well as some small Middle Eastern countries (UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, etc).

Sources:

1. Independent Online, http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=31&art_id=nw20070621122800496C977219
2. People's Daily, http://english.people.com.cn/200706/21/eng20070621_386531.html
3. Daily Times, http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C06%5C18%5Cstory_18-6-2007_pg6_19&title=Hong+Kong+is+choked+by+growing+pollution+problems
4. Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions_per_capita