Climate change: US pushes China to make faster carbon cuts
US climate envoy John Kerry has called on China to increase the speed and depth of its efforts to cut carbon.
Without sufficient emissions reductions by China, Mr Kerry said, the global goal of keeping temperatures under 1.5C was "essentially impossible".
Mr Kerry said he was convinced that China could do more and the US was willing to work closely to secure a reasonable climate future.
Every major economy must now commit to meaningful reductions by 2030, he said.
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Atlantis Viewpoint
Since the climate emergency is in vogue, some companies and countries have taken great steps forward to tackle the problem as soon as possible. Some regions like Europe appear to be reacting fast, and companies like Microsoft have ambitious goals to be carbon negative by 2030. In contrast, other companies have put the preservation of their old business methods before the common good. It is understandable that some companies, like fossil fuels promoters, are finding their job a lot more difficult. Now that it is so widely known that fossil fuels are generating such much air pollution (which affects everybody’s health) and greenhouse gases emissions (which drives climate change). However, it's not acceptable if these companies are spreading misinformation to make people hesitate on making the transition to cleaner methods.
Unfortunately, it seems economic interests always come first, before the welfare on global citizens. Fossil fuel companies have publicised ‘net-zero’ ambitions and sustainability targets that rarely align with the Paris Agreement goals and often include gaps or caveats in the small print that permit these companies’ fossil fuel operations to actually grow.
Energy companies and fossil fuel suppliers invest in reputational advertising that shifts the focus to action by consumers and governments, positioning themselves as trusted partners to society and promoting the role fossil fuel companies play in the climate transition. A technique that seems to be working but is in fact hampering the development of new clean technologies.
For this reason, we don't want to see the US involved in a tit for tat match with China over who’s doing okay or semi-good. We want leading governments to lead the world in the right direction. We need policymakers to introduce tobacco-style advertising bans and health warnings to curb deceptive fossil fuel marketing. We need serious action from community leaders so we can leave behind the old oil, gas and coal fuel systems of the world, relegating them to the past and moving forward with True Clean Energy systems that will improve everyone’s health and protect our delicate climate & ecosystem.
