Experts argue that in the 21st Century climate change has become one of the most challenging problems. There are many policies, regulations, and social principles that need to be changed in order to make a significant impact on global warming. Though, since climate change is a world wide problem, climate policies need to be made on both a regional and global scale. International agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol set by the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as well policies by the European Union (EU), governments, municipalities, and local NGOs that strife for a better environment, are crucial to changing global warming. Some areas are more sensitive to global warming than others, and therefore people from these areas tend to upkeep their own regional environmental policies more than others. China is the world’s largest growing economy, but one of its major issues has been the dealing with climate change. Nevertheless, one needs to understand that one lives in a world where the climate is changing rapidly, and a world that is interlinked – at the end of the day all humans live under the same roof. The phenomenon of globalization shows how human kind has developed an integrated world with similar views, products, ideas and culture (Al-Rodhan & Stoudmann, 2006). China is the most obvious example of globalization and climate change, and will therefore be interlinked throughout this essay. Since both climate change and globalization are aspects that both have a global influence, one could argue that these two have positive feedback on each other. O’Brien and Leichenko point out that the “processes of economic globalization are modifying or exacerbating existing vulnerabilities to climate change” (O’Brien & Leich...
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...together as one through the phenomena of globalization. China has taken advantage of this situation and has become the economic power of the world by being attractive for foreign production and investment. Though, Chinas economic boost has gone hand in hand with environmental concerns, and GHG emissions being the main one. A third of the world’s coal consumption is consumed by China, and these fossil fuels consequently have an impact on environment of China, but also surrounding countries. It has thus become obvious that Chinas issues are the world’s issues. Even though China does not want to become part of the Kyoto Protocol, it has set ambitious goals to reduce GHG’s. It already is the largest global investor in new renewable energies, and has set goals to battle climate change. However, officials have said that these are meant for reaching out to other countries.
Climate change and Global Warming are out of control. This means that, no matter what policies, processes or actions are implemented, the Earth as we know it will never be the same again. There is significant evidence to support this hypothesis. The dilemma becomes whether we can limit the damage and adapt to a new status quo or not. Rising sea levels and the damage caused by this phenomenon has irreversible impacts on coastlines worldwide. Damage to sensitive reef systems cannot be fixed. This also has permanent impacts of the ecology not just of those immediate areas but also the ocean as a whole.
Global Warming, much of what does or does not happen forty years from now rests on our actions or inactions taken between now and then. The crucial question is whether we should pour all our resources into mitigation – reducing our carbon emissions. According to scientists who study the climate there are other environmental problems; “we now face a global crises in land use and agriculture that could undermine the health, security, and sustainability of our civilization”.
In order to understand why China is in such environmental difficulties we need to understand why the lifestyles of people in Europe and the US could be to blame. The first area to consider is the environmental issues that China is currently suffering with. Once this is established I can assert what impact the US and Europe has in relation to these issues and what actually causes them. In linking the events it will be easier to see the chain of events. To do this I am going to work backwards and understand the issues that exist within China and then secondly what they are a result of. This will give me the background of why China’s environmental issues have become so dire.
China’s economy is one very large indicator of its role in globalization. “In 2010 China became the world’s largest exporter” (CIA World Factbook). Without China many places such as the United States of America would be without billions of goods imported from China annually. An influx of companies moving their manufacturing to China has allowed people to flock to cities and find jobs. China’s economy has grown exponentially over the last few decades. In the last three years China’s economy has grown by nearly ten percent every year. Despite this influx of money to China it has also resulted in many drawbacks. For example, China’s environment has been obliterated. China burns more coal than every country in the world combined. Beijing has been so badly polluted that there are actually companies that sell cans of fresh air to people, and gas masks are a common sight. On January 12th 2013 Beijing’s air pollution reached a record setting 775 PPM. To put that into perspective, the scale for measuring pollution is 0-500 PPM. This set an all-time recorded high. In Los Angeles a high ...
The two essays by Michael Pollan and Curtis white talk about climate change in regards to the relationship between the environment and human beings. Although the two essays share the same topic, they take the subject and engage the readers in totally different points of views. Pollan’s essay talks about global and ecological responsibility being a personal virtue while Curtis discusses the socio-economic or political issues underlying sustainability (Pollan; White). These two essays are very different in terms of voice; however these pieces of writing are both important for people all over the world to read. Climate change and environmental disasters are a real issue. Just this year, there have been more storms, cyclones, earthquakes and typhoons all over the world. One cannot look at the state of many developing counties where the majority of the population is exposed and vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This issue on developing a viable solution for the problem of anthropogenic gases and global warming is long from being found. Not only this, many people do not want to hear about this issue since they do not think it is real. Unless people have tangible proof that their cars, thermostats and aerosol cans are contributing to climate change, they are not going to give up their lifestyles. By synthesizing the two essays, one can see that there is a need for change and that it is not an issue which should be dealt with in terms of ecological factors or even personal virtue. The social, economic and political factors affecting this problem and the move towards real sustainability should also be a topic that will raise awareness.
It seeks to implement post-kyoto agreements applicable to all UNFCC nations. According to the France Diplomatie website “The meeting will mark a decisive stage in negotiations on the future international agreement on a post-2020 regime, and will, as agreed in Durban, adopt the major outlines of that regime.By the end of the meeting, for the first time in over 20 years of UN negotiations, all the nations of the world, including the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, will be bound by a universal agreement on climate.” (“France Diplomatie” 2013) In order to prepare for COP21; as of November 12th, 2014 the governments of the US and China have come to an agreement in which the US will lower it’s emissions by about a third by 2025, and China will taper off its emission and begin to reduce them by one third by 2030. China has also agreed that by that time at least 20% of their electricity will come from renewable resources. This would constitute an increase of 1000 GiW of energy from current levels. (Hoye, Yan. 2014) Although some, like US senator Mitch McConnell, have argued that this agreement allows China to “do nothing” for 16 years and places the burden on us, this sentiment is misguided. Because US emissions are down by roughly 10% from 2005 levels, as discussed earlier, The United States will have an easier time of reducing our emissions further to 26%-28% by 2025. By comparison over the last decade China has been developing very rapidly, lifting more than 100 million people out of poverty. The new Chinese middle class consumes more energy, causing China’s emissions to skyrocket during that time. In the last 10 years China has added one and a half the entire US number of coal-fired power plants. In order to reach the agreed upon cuts of up to 30% by 2030 while still maintaining growth China will have to change business as usual drastically. This is one reason for the agreed upon increase in renewable energy
... This has resulted in increased pollution due to livestock releasing methane gas into the air. And due to demand for electrical goods from western countries, it has helped China to produce a capitalist economy. This has enabled China’s citizens to have a prosperous lifestyle, which has increased pollution due to the increase in energy use and waste production. Furthermore, although the Chinese government and its citizens are trying to tackle their environmental problems, it seems to be too little too late.
Therefore, the obligation to address climate change falls on all the nations. But why are the problems of climate change so difficult to think clearly about and act efficiently? To start with, the rapid industrialization of the major Asian nations, especially India and China, amplified the ongoing crisis. And since the impact of Western countries are indirect, they are unwilling to sacrifice their current benefits by cutting down on emissions. Stephen M. Gardiner examines this phenomenon in his paper “A Perfect Moral Storm: Climate Change, Intergenerational Ethics and the Problem of Moral Corruption”.
Although it is often a topic for contention in politics, global warming over the span of several decades, has led to climate change, which has had an alarming impact globally. Climate change needs to ...
Capitalism vs Climate Change Initiatives Capitalism and climate change seem like two fundamentally different ideas when we read their definitions, but when it comes to societal change they conflict very heavily. How can two different ideas be so different in basic ideals but be so intertwined when societal change is involved? This involvement is due to convoluted trade agreements that prevent progress in any sector but the economic one. This relationship is so twisted that it is almost humorous, and Naomi Klein reflects, “Yet rather than compete for the best, most effective support for green energy, the biggest emitters in the world are rushing to the WTO to knock down each other’s windmills”. How can we expect the world to be cleaned up and begin making progress when seemingly every step we take forward is accompanied by two steps backwards?
Tong’s concern is that if the atmospheric temperature goes on increasing just like now, soon his country will submerge in water in the near future. He calls for a joint rapid action among world countries to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.
In this essay I will outline the ways in which the international community has failed to respond to climate change in the right way, specifically looking at the effect that climate change has had on poor countries and their peoples. The international community has failed to address climate change in a way that is effective in helping not only those in the developed world but also those in poor countries. The irony of global warming is that developed countries that contribute most to it are often in areas that are least effected by the consequences and yet they have the most power to combat the effects. In contrast poor countries, such as pacific island countries (PICs) and those in the arctic, are often situated in areas that are most effected
Climate change has been an extremely controversial topic in recent history and continues to create much debate today. Many questions concerning climate change’s origins and its potential affect on the globe are not fully understood and remain unanswered. What is climate change? Is climate change happening? Is it a natural cycle of the world or are there other catalysts involved such as human activity? What proof is there? What data correlations show climate change is accelerated by humans? How serious is climate change and how will it affect the future of our globe? What are we doing to address climate change? Should we really be concerned about climate change? Questions such as these have made climate change a very serious issue in today’s world and created the ideology of climatism. The issue of climate change has affected many different aspects of our lives and the world we live in. Policymaking, human activism, technologies, emission control, global warming, alternative energy sources and many other things have been greatly affected by the mania of climate change. This research report will present climate change in a light of common sense and rationality that will take a grounded discussion of the science behind climate change, global warming, human activity, and how the ideology of climatism has corrupted and driven the actions to combat climate change.
Countries such as China and Japan need to enforce more powerful regulations on the amount of carbon emissions that they produce. China put in regulations just this last year and Japan postponed plans for a national regulations on carbon emissions, bowing to powerful business groups that warned of job losses as they compete against overseas rivals facing fewer emissions regulations. It’s not a good sign that large corporations can control how a nation regulates its environmental safety laws. China is finally planning to regulate their carbon emissions. This is long over due concerting that China ranks as the world’s number one carbon dioxide emitter, thanks in part to the massive amounts of coal the country burns. China currently builds a new coal-fired power plant at a rate of about one every week to ten days. The country’s coal burning levels are nearly on par with the rest of the world combined.
Vidal, J., & Adam, D. (2007, June 19). China overtakes US as world's biggest CO2 emitter. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/jun/19/china.usnews