I was reading an article from Reuters on Yahoo regarding China's position on global warming. It appears that China does not question the reality of global warming and climate change so much as who should be responsible for doing something about it. China's Foreign Minister, Jiang Yu, has stated that the developed (not developing) countries are to blame and should be the ones to lead the way in cutting emissions. His position is that long-term, historic emissions are the culprit for global warming, which seems to be another way of him saying that a country on the fast-track to developing and industrializing (like China or India), should not be viewed as accountable. He did not indicate whether China would be willing to submit to caps on carbon dioxide emissions. If China's growth continues as it is now, it is poised to become the world's third largest economy by next year, trailing only the U.S. and Japan and displacing Germany, which is currently in the third position.

I was bothered by China's attitude, in that its contribution to global warming can hardly be denied, given its heavy reliance on coal for power, its huge population, it enormous growth in various polluting industries, etc. Yet, in some ways, I could understand why it views climate change as the product of industrialized nations. While China's economy has been booming in the past few years, the U.S. has been industrialized for over a century and has both generated and consumed a great deal of power leading to carbon emissions. In addition, the U.S has built itself up using steel and other materials it has manufactured for years and years, without much concern for the environmental impact until recently. After all, we didn't even have an EPA until the Nixon Administration. Why should we be pointing to China and India to change their ways when we have brazenly refused to sign on to the Kyoto Protocol? When our own President is opposed to mandatory caps on carbon emissions, how can we push developing countries to limit their own carbon emissions? In essence, China's Foreign Minister has a point that the developed nations are hypocrites when it comes to taking responsibilty for global warming and that this problem did not just emerge overnight or even in the past decade. Our own industrialization over many years has led to this situation. Yet, in my opinion, developing nations should not be given a pass so easily. Their burning of coal and other fossil fuels for energy and other polluting practices should not be shrugged off as insignificant. Rather, the U.S and Western Europe must set a precedent for aggressively dealing with global warming via more investments in alternative energy, such that China and India can see how these practices can bolster an economy and hopefully, forestall the worsening of climate change. China and India are industrializing just as the U.S. did in the 1800s--consuming and polluting to no end to get the economy rolling. Yet, we know better now and we must set an example that preserving our planet should not be an afterthought. Our country as a whole should be taking on the position that California has, which is to own up to carbon emissions and aggressively try to limit them, while boosting the economy with the alternative energy market. Until we make drastic changes in our own position, China and India can simply hide behind us and wait for us to take the lead.