Читать книгу Carbon Counter - Mark Lynas - Страница 20

We’ve all heard the cliché that Americans are greedy polluters, while Africans have a much lighter impact on the planet. But is it true? Different countries have radically different carbon impacts, depending on their pattern of development and the lifestyles of their citizens. America is in fact quite near the top of the global warming polluters’ league table, with almost 20 tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted per person. But the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, with their oil-rich economies, have twice the per-person impact of the US.

European countries tend to have about half the per capita emissions of the United States: the UK, for example, has 9.4 tonnes to America’s 19.8. So our carbon footprints are only half as large as those of the average American. But they are still big on a global scale – each Brit produces ten times as much CO₂ as each Vietnamese. Global warming naysayers are fond of pointing the finger at China and India, as if they are to blame for the problem. But China’s emissions are only 3.2 tonnes per person while India’s are 1.2 tonnes per person.

Africa is often forgotten altogether, and African per capita emissions are indeed minuscule in comparison to ours. Tanzania’s people emit only 0.1 tonnes each – one hundredth of our per-person total – while Chad

Tip: At the moment it is not possible to say when each degree of temperature rise will be reached – because that depends on decisions we have all yet to make. If we continue to increase carbon emissions, we might reach two degrees as soon as 2030. But if we cut back our greenhouse gas emissions sharply, we may avoid two degrees altogether.

and Mali have emissions so low that they are not even measurable. It is interesting to note how African people are often blamed for environmental damage such as deforestation and the hunting of wildlife, but in global warming terms they are greener than green. The only exception is highly developed South Africa, which, with 7.8 tonnes per person, is nearly up to European standards. Anyone who has travelled around Johannesburg’s traffic-choked motorways will quickly understand why.

Of course, because developing countries have such huge populations, their global impact is considerable. China is the second-largest emitter in the world (after the United States, of course), with 14.5% of the world total. India is number four in the list, with 5.1% of the total, while the UK is seventh, with 2.3%. Because of their large total impact and the rapid scale of their economic development, it is clearly true that global

Tip: The UK often claims to be doing most towards bringing down greenhouse gas emissions, and the government projects that we are on target under the Kyoto Protocol to meet our reduction of 12.5% by 2012. However, a tougher government target of 20% reductions by that date has now been quietly dropped, and emissions are currently rising again – thanks mostly to the general public driving and consuming more.

warming cannot be solved without engaging developing nations in the effort. But while such dramatic per capita disparities remain, China and India have a fair point in refusing to take the first steps.