chapotraphouse

Yes, it is true - if you look at the numbers as a whole, China does emit more carbon than America. But what constantly goes artfully elided in these statements is that their carbon emissions PER CAPITA is WAY lower than America’s. Of course they emit more carbon, like four times as many people live there. But what China doesn’t have are single individuals driving military grade gas guzzling SUVs two blocks to buy groceries twice a week. Also, most of their emissions come from industrial plants that produce all of the goods whose production WE OUTSOURCE TO THEM. The only reason their carbon emissions are so high is because western capitalists realized it’d be cheaper to move production there than keep them in the first world. Also, Bernie, who is making a massive investment in green energy? I’ll give you a hint, it’s only one of these countries. So it should be less about “America and China need to put aside their differences and work together”, a statement that tacitly implies that there’s something China isn’t doing that they need to start, and more about “America needs to catch the fuck up to China’s massive pivot toward green energy”.