• partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Climate change is real. China feels like the only country treating it like its real. I see stories about a country investing heavily in renewable energy, in EVs, in energy storage, and i dont understand why theyre not getting unanimous applause.

    I think you may be misattributing China’s motives. Yes, China is heavily investing in EVs, batteries, and non-carbon energy generation (solar, wind, hydro). However they’re not doing it because of their deep desire to be green or concern over climate change. They’re doing it because China’s geography is energy poor in a very energy hungry nation. China has just a tiny fraction of fossil fuel sources located in their national borders. That’s a really bad position when your nation is dependent on other nations for the energy you need to grow your food and run your economy. This is why they’re maxed out on:

    In fact while the rest of the world is retiring coal for power generation, China is responsible for building 95% of the world’s new coal power plants.

    Other countries are mad because they’re doing better than them and want to drag them down to our gas SUV dependent level.

    Except they’re not doing better in reducing carbon emissions. Not only are they the largest global producer of CO2, they keep dramatically increasing carbon emissions year over year while the rest of the industrialized nations are plateauing or reducing (beside India).

    Other countries should feel nothing but shame for not treating climate change like its real.

    If we’re looking at just the numbers (which, I admit, is an incomplete conversation), China is the one that is not treating climate change as real.

    • AA5B@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Depends on which numbers you’re looking at.

      Your numbers don’t include the massive scale out of renewable energy, transit, and EVs that is outpacing the rest of the world combined. That’s crazy. Your numbers don’t include like 95% of EV buses: crazy. And your numbers don’t include the millions of Chinese still being uplifted to the developed world suddenly needing energy.

      Most of all, your numbers don’t include progress toward decarbonization targets. Every country could define their own, but China is ahead of what they promised and most of the rest of us are behind

      • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Depends on which numbers you’re looking at.

        I absolutely agree.

        Your numbers don’t include the massive scale out of renewable energy, transit, and EVs that is outpacing the rest of the world combined. That’s crazy. Your numbers don’t include like 95% of EV buses: crazy.

        The amount of carbon China is releasing today doesn’t care about any of that. You’re looking at the gross, but what matters is the net which reaches the air. The net is hugely bad compared to other countries considering we have only one planet.

        And your numbers don’t include the millions of Chinese still being uplifted to the developed world suddenly needing energy.

        The atmosphere doesn’t care about uplifting people. The climate will change negatively to human (plant and animal) life with the continue, or worse, increase of carbon emissions.

        Most of all, your numbers don’t include progress toward decarbonization targets. Every country could define their own, but China is ahead of what they promised and most of the rest of us are behind

        The atmosphere doesn’t care about promises. It cares about reductions of release of carbon. If China is continuing to release more carbon while promising to release less at some point in the future, that doesn’t help. Worse, China is isn’t just releasing more carbon, its rate of release is also increasing drastically year over year. So its getting worse, not better, every year in a greater proportion to the prior year.

        China can get accolades on decarbonizaion, when it actually de-carbonizes. So far that isn’t happening.

        • AA5B@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          The atmosphere doesn’t care about uplifting people

          For sure, but it may be species-ist, but the whole point of caring for the environment is to give people a better future …. Compared to giving people a better future

          China can get accolades on decarbonizaion, when it actually de-carbonizes

          Progress is good, even if we don’t yet meet necessary goals. The point is they’re ahead of what they committed to. That’s a good thing. We’re not. That’s not good

          • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            but the whole point of caring for the environment is to give people a better future …. Compared to giving people a better future

            Those people will NOT HAVE a better future with climate change.

            Progress is good,

            There is no progress. China’s carbon emissions are greater year after year. There IS NO reduction. That isn’t progress. That is regression.

            even if we don’t yet meet necessary goals. The point is they’re ahead of what they committed to. That’s a good thing. We’re not. That’s not good

            Look at the graph. The rest of the world is REDUCING carbon emissions. China (and India) are increasing.

            They’re ahead of what they committed to but they keep increasing carbon emissions? How are you possible able to see that as a positive thing?