There is somewhat of a standoff going on between all the countries in the world over this cap and trade emissions idea. Most notably is the US and China as we account for 40% of the world’s carbon emissions.
So what happens if we cap our emissions and China does not?
First we should look at what China wants because this is a hard thing to pin down. It seems clear that the people in charge in China do not put the same value on human life or quality of life. It follows that they could really care less about the environment or it’s inhabitants and wouldn’t pursue alternative energy on the grounds it poisons the planet.
China does want to be THE new superpower in the world and if they are clever they will have figured out that long term growth will inevitably require alternative energy infrastructure. China already has some alternative energy initiatives in place.
if we cap and they don’t we could put carbon tariffs in place but that might just lead to a large black market…
So until peak oil declines and coal reserves run out, China won’t actually cap emissions because it is a short term economic restriction. They will invest in alternative energy but like everyone else they will use fossil fuels to the bottom of the barrel.
Of course we might be told that they have capped emissions but like most regulations in China, they will go unenforced.
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