Historic Hype Over Global Warming Agreement With China; CO2 vs. Death-by-Pollution

On Tuesday, China and US Struck Deal on Carbon Cuts in Push for Global Climate Pact.

In a New York Times Op-Ed, Secretary of State John Kerry reflected on Our Historic Agreement With China on Climate Change.

Agreement Summation

1. President Obama pledged to cut US carbon emissions by 26-28% of 2005 levels by 2025
2. China agreed to cap its emissions by 2030 (earlier if possible, but no guarantees)
3. China will expand zero-emission sources to 20% by 2030.

Is this a good deal? For whom?

Here is a little perspective on the agreement.

Carbon Emissions by Country



Under the agreement, the US needs to act now. China can delay for 5-10 years or more.

Questions of the Day

1. What will China's emissions be in 2030 by the time China's cap kicks in? 
2. Is this deal worth the accompanied hype?

Some of the comments on the Guardian Live Blog are ridiculous.

For example: "Today’s deal puts intense pressure on Australia to announce a target for post-2020 greenhouse gas reductions, writes my colleague Lenore Taylor."

Please look at the above map. Would it matter one iota if Australia cut emissions 20% by overnight? Heck, would it matter if Australia cut emissions to zero?

From a carbon perspective the answer is no. However, the global loss in Australia's resource production would be quite significant, far more than any alleged gain from carbon reductions.

Pollution Perspective

Actually, I am all in favor of China reducing pollution. The sooner the better, but without so much hype over "global warming".

China is literally killing hundreds-of-thousands of people each year with air and water pollution.

Smog is so bad in China that discounting cultural issues and love of homeland, no one in their right mind would choose to live there if they had other options.

Interestingly, 47% of Chinese Billionaires Want to Leave China Within 5 Years, Only 6% of US Billionaires Seek to Leave US.

Death-by-Pollution Stories

• New York Times: Air Pollution Linked to 1.2 Million Premature Deaths in China
• Telegraph: China's 'Airpocalypse' Kills 350,000 to 500,000 Each Year according to China's former health minister.
• Bloomberg: China's Smog at Center of Air Pollution Deaths 

Those headlines believable? You bet.

I have written about China's Pollution Problems over a dozen times.

Click on the preceding link and look at a couple articles for some truly nauseating pollution images. CO2 emissions are the least of China's pollution worries.

So please China, clean up your act, not because of global warming, but because you are poisoning the world right now.

China knows all that, and would have acted alone, with or without any persuasion from Obama or hype from Kerry.

Useless Feathers and More Questions

Did China commit to anything it would not have done in the first place, without an agreement?

If the answer is no (and it is), then what did Obama's "historic" deal accomplish other than put another useless "I did it feather" in Obama's cap, a feather that comes at relative expense to the US vs. China?

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com