Climate Policy and the Developing World
Poor, low-carbon emitting nations are being targeted unfairly.
November 13, 2014
1. In 2013, China’s 1.4 billion people accounted for more than 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
2. The entire population of the African continent – 1 billion people – emitted just 1/10th of China’s total CO2 emissions.
3. Africa’s population could double China’s by the middle of the century.
4. The economic prospects of billions of people in China and Africa will depend in large part on growth in production.
5. To reduce emissions, without condemning vast swaths of humanity to unending poverty, requires the development of inexpensive, low-carbon energy technologies.
6. Developing low-carbon energy technologies is therefore mandatory. It will require an investment of significant resources over many decades.
Source: Roger Pielke, University of Colorado, and Daniel Sarewitz, Arizona State University (Financial Times).
