The Daily Background
| Replying to right-wingers installment #2
by Arlen Parsa
For your entertainment, I bring you part two of our continuing series “replying to right-wingers.” Part one of the series as well as a short explanation can be found here. The following exchange was in discussing environmental issues with a right-winger. He wrote:
Just change the Kyoto Treaty to treat each country equally.
I promptly replied the following. “Do you think that tiny countries like Vatican City should be asked to cut down on their emissions the same amount as the largest polluting country in the world?
The Kyoto Protocol calls for each country to cut down on a proportionate reduction in emissions from each country. The goal is to have a global reduction of emissions and therefore each country must be treated in terms of how much they pollute.”
Each country’s reduction percentage should be equal. If the treaty asks the U.S. to reduce these emissions by 10%, we would expect Vatican City, China, and every other country to reduce their emissions by that same 10%.
To which I responded that “The Bush Administration and Republican-controlled Congress will not ratify and sign the Kyoto Treaty into law under the conditions you have suggested.”
I ended up getting the last word; this took place four weeks ago and he hasn’t responded since. Unfortunately for him, the truth ended up being inconvenient for his argument that the Kyoto treaty should be amended because the Administration has already stated that they will not approve the treaty on any terms. What an inconvenient truth. Harharhar.
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You can find more installments of this ongoing series here.
If Kyoto Protocol calls for each country to cut down on a proportionate reduction in emissions from each country, then why does China not have a equal proportionate amount???
You are one stupid left-wing blogger!
Caring about the environment is neither “left” nor “right.” As to your question, the answer is very simple. Wikipedia sums it up fairly well:
1. The largest share of historical and current global emissions of greenhouse gases has originated in developed countries;
2. Per capita emissions in developing countries are still relatively low;
3. The share of global emissions originating in developing countries will grow to meet their social and development needs.. UNFCCC background
In other words, China, India, and other developing countries were exempt from the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol because they were not the main contributors to the greenhouse gas emissions during the industrialization period that is believed to be causing today’s climate change.