China combats climate change

admin • June 7, 2013

Part of what we do involves being out in the community and talking to folks about climate change. Lots of people are happy to chat, and in our travels we often encounter a familiar phrase: “Isn’t it China? Doesn’t all the carbon come from over there?”

First of all, we’ve never seen the actions of another country as reason enough for us to sit on our laurels. We live in a vast and beautiful place that deserves to be protected. Rather than focusing on what’s happening elsewhere, it’s important to take inspiration from our neighbours and communities who are taking action here. We have a simple idea that requires action from the most accessible level of government. Why not join in?

A smoggy day in Beijing.

And secondly, while photos of China’s smoggy cities might make for sexy news, we shouldn’t forget that Canadians actually emit more greenhouse gasses per capita than folks in China. It’s easy to point to someone else when we don’t want to acknowledge our own missteps, but it doesn’t do much to solve the problem.

Recent moves by the Chinese government may make this phrase a relic of the past. Here’s what they’re doing:

Pricing Carbon

Yep, China is creating a cap and trade system for carbon.
They’re also creating a carbon tax.

Renewable Energy

China is investing billions of dollars into renewable energy.
Not just at home, but abroad, too.

International Cooperation

China and the US recently created a climate change working group to cooperate on reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.

Granted, China’s emissions are still growing, they’re just not growing as fast. But these actions make it tougher for us to think of this as someone else’s problem. While the Canadian federal government has taken a different tack on climate change in recent years, those of us who care still have the power to act. Your community may not be as large as, say, China, but your efforts — and the efforts of your community – can still have a massive impact.

Shall we contact our councillors?