Monday, July 07, 2008

India Rolls Out Climate Change Initiatives


The Indian government has unveiled a series of climate change initiatives. The eight point programme focuses on solar energy, enhanced energy efficiency, sustainable habitats, water conservation, sustaining the Himalayan ecosystem, developing a 'green' India, sustainable agriculture and building a strategic knowledge platform on climate change.

Yada, yada, yada - good luck with that. But what about greenhouse gas emissions? Well, there's the rub.

India won't commit to GHG caps except to assure us that per capita emissions in India won't exceed those of the developed world.

Relax. For India and China to get to North American carbon footprint levels we'd need about three times the maximum sustainable energy our environmentally besieged planet can produce. Since that is a geological impossibility, we can see that assurance for what it is - telling the developed world to take their racist carbon policies and shove them.

8 comments:

The Mound of Sound said...

Sorry Johnathon, you've been binned for foul and offensive language. Start again and this time pretend you're talking to your mom.

Scruffy Dan said...

There was an article in forbes a while back arguing that instead having an international agreement on carbon caps (something that seems very unlikely) we should work towards an agreement of a global price for carbon. AKA a global carbon tax, but each country would be free to do what it wished with the revenue such a tax would collect (such as reducing taxes in other areas), so no money would need to cross international boarders. I'll try to find the link to the article.

The Mound of Sound said...

I could see Forbes proposing that type of thing but I can't see it working, especially given the option that some countries might then transform the funds into production subsidies for affected industries. Wouldn't that necessitate renegotiating the WTO agreements?

I still lean toward carbon tariffs on both imports and exports as a viable option. If you're going to require domestic industries to clean up, they need to be protected from the financial advantages foreign competitors might realize from lax regulations offshore.

Johnathon said...

I didn't swear at all blowhard.

I'll try it again.

Since the Liberals did nothing for 13 years on the environment, why are you so concerned now?

The Libranos cannot think for one second that they care about the environment now can they?

The Mound of Sound said...

Blowhard? It hardly lies in your mouth Johnathon to call anyone else that. As for the Libs record on global warming, get your facts right and then give us an informed opinion. Just because you heard some rightwing nutjob spew out nonsense that doesn't make it true chum. Your greasy side of the spectrum has hatched the likes of Limbaugh and Hannity and all the rest of the clown princes of hyperbole, deception and outright lies. They only do it because they know they have an ample audience of dimwits who'll believe them, people Johnny boy, a lot like yourself.

Oldschool said...

Hey Mound . . . wasn't it the Cretch that went to Kyoto and had to outdo the US by agreeing to a larger reduction. Then the Cretch came home and did nothing for the rest of his term. He could have agreed to 0 rollback like many other countries did, but he had to outdo the US. But then the US Senate voted 95-0 during the Clinton years not to sign on to the flawed Kyoto Protocol. Even nutty Al was against it then. That was before he figured out how he could get rich from the scam. Since big Al left office he has managed to acquire 100 million dollars in assest. I guess you could call him carbon-neutered!!!

Unknown said...

I think old tool and johnadumb both share the same basement suite in either mom's house - they seem to come lurking together lately. Anywho, another great piece. We definitley need to worry about we are doing in our own cutbacks - and stop using India and China as excuses not to lead the way in initiatives.

The Mound of Sound said...

Preschool, you abuse the privilege of stupidity. It's been years since I meet someone so profoundly ignorant and incurious as you.