| Western countries outsourcing pollution to China | |
|---|---|
| Jan 15, 2008 00:51 |   |
 | Have you ever visited China for once or twice? For those who have ever been to China, the bad impression China has made on you might be “the severe pollution”. However, have you ever pondered on the contributory factors of the severe pollution problem? On one hand, China itself produced a large amount of pollutants and didn’t handle the waste properly. On the other hand, a new trend is that Western nations are outsourcing pollution to China. I have chanced upon an article that presents this issue in detail. ( I will attach the article in the end of this thread) Before browsing the article, I want to know what you guys think of the pollution problem in China. Western countries have exported a lot of stuff to China and other developing countries in the past centuries. The major stuff includes industrial items and cultural value. Now, pollution seems to become a major product. In the past, we call that kind of conduct “Imperialism”. I am just thinking if the western countries are still implementing a mutated ‘Imperialism’? Who do you think should take more responsibilities in combating pollution problem and global warming, developing countries or developed countries? |
| Jan 15, 2008 00:52 | #1 |
| (Source:China Daily January 15, 2008) Western nations are contributing to China's CO2 emissions, according to a report from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Norwegian University of Science and Technology. "Western countries such as Norway are outsourcing pollution to China and other countries in the developing world," said Rasmus Reinvang from WWF-Norway, co-author of the report. This is saving European countries billions of euros on clean development mechanism (CDM) projects set up under the Kyoto Protocol, which allow rich countries to buy carbon credits from developing nations to meet CO2 emission targets. The report, released in Beijing and Oslo yesterday, said Norway's increasing imports of electronics, machinery and other products is driving manufacturing, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in China. It shows that CO2 emissions from products manufactured in China and exported to Norway have almost tripled from 2001 to 2006 to reach 6.8 million tons. The report claims that greenhouse gas emissions produced by the average Norwegian household are close to the Chinese average of 3.8 tons. "The report should contribute to a more factual debate about the responsibility of different countries in a post-2012 global climate regime. Western countries bear large responsibility for CO2 emissions in China," said Li Lin, head of conservation strategies at WWF-China. Greenhouse gas emissions in Western countries have generally flattened over the past decade as a result of the transfer of energy-intensive industries from developed to developing countries. But global emissions are still rising, due largely to rapid emissions growth in developing economies like China and India. "If the developing world's production for Western consumers had taken place inside the European carbon trading system, our rough estimates show that carbon credit prices would amount to 51 billion euros per year," said Reinvang. "This indicates the minimum investment developed nations should make in technology transfer through CDM projects to ensure emission reductions in the developing world." |
| Jan 15, 2008 03:59 | #2 |
| Leonardo, It's a very sad truth. In many developed countries where certain environmental protection schemes are in place it is much cheaper to have these products manufactured in China. It is a very distressing topic. The sad truth is where there is money involved people will do what they can get away with. In China, the pollution policies have been poorly regulated and enforced. It's true that many culprits for this pollution are joint venture companies between 'Western' nations and China. People know the damage and impact it has on the environment but where business and economy are concerned people are lacking moral courage. Thankfully there are some advocates of environmental protection in China (both local and foreigners). I hope they receive the full support of the community, government and law in China. I believe these 'carbon trading' schemes are the biggest myth of the 21st century. For too long governments have complained that this action will damage the economy. Now that 'carbon trading' has become a commodity of its own it has full governmental support. It smells of trouble to me. I am in full support of a better world but we do that by consuming less, not just consuming environmentally responsible products. |
| Jan 15, 2008 10:59 | #3 |
| Anything can be justified: "If Ernst Yanning is to be found guilty, the whole world must be found guilty." |
| Jan 16, 2008 02:49 | #4 |
| "Western countries such as Norway are outsourcing pollution to China and other countries in the developing world," North Europe is a very severely-polluted area. ( Acid Rain Area). Now it is a shame that they are outsourcing polution to China. Countries like these are narrow-minded and ego-centric. Why did they save their environment at the expense of other countries' benefits? |
| Jan 16, 2008 10:33 | #5 |
| IAs Griz says, we are all responsible. That is to say, both consumers (mostly the develped countries) and producers. In the past we blamed the producer,s the bad factories for example, now we realise it is our consumption and greed, but the producers have generated demands for goods that we don't need...it is a circle of dependence. Countries are 'narrow minded and egocentric' - yes indeed because it is a competitive world. Ifit weren't this way the countroies would co-operate and we might call the world social-ist. The latter is clearly not on the horizon. Countries must look after their own interests until fundamental attitudes change. |
| Jan 16, 2008 19:18 | #6 |
| In the long run, there is no such thing as polluting just one country. We are all on the same earth. We all share the oceans. We are all breathing the same air. |
| Jan 16, 2008 21:36 | #7 |
| I am sure; China has the right to reject it. |
| Jan 16, 2008 22:08 | #8 |
| NICHOLAS, Very insightful inputs. I am with you. >>The sad truth is where there is money involved people will do what they can get away with. In China, the pollution policies have been poorly regulated and enforced. It's true that many culprits for this pollution are joint venture companies between 'Western' nations and China. << As long as there are too many interests or profits involved, the williness of governmental organizations and business to handle the pollution problems will be discounted. No doubt, we all care for interests, but most of business or governmental orgs seems to be blind to the long-term interests. Therefore, my faith in governmental organizations' role in combating pollution problems has been largely disillusioned. On the contrary, some NGOs( Non-governmental organizations) have been playing a very active role in the cause of environmental protection. Green Peace is one of them. Shesgottobe and Apault point out the essense of the problem: pollution and green house effect are global problems. We all should take responsibilty, but IMO, developed countries should take more responsibilities. On one hand, they are rich and are more capable fanancially of handling the problem. On the other hand, developed countries have discharged more pollutants to this globe on their ways to industrialization and modernization. Tragically, some irresponsible guys don't act conscientiously. President George W. Bush is one of them. He is uncooperative in curbing the emission of carbon dioxide. Is it so hard for him to sign the Kyoto Protocol? |
| Jan 17, 2008 04:03 | #9 |
| GUESTDEM | NGOs do not care about economic profits. Governmental organizations and political parties have political agenda. Businesses are driven by profits. Junior Bush is a political figure and businessman. He has political motive. He is profit-hungry. |
| Jan 19, 2008 21:58 | #10 |
| Westen countries are exporting the industries that could cause serious pollution to developing countries. This is a kind of neo-clonialism. Polluting industries outsourced to China engraves China's environmental pollution situation. |
Page 1 of 2 < Previous Next > Page:
Post a Reply to: Western countries outsourcing pollution to China
Copyright © 1998-2024 All rights reserved.