Monday, March 16, 2009

China: Rich nations should pay for pollution from exports

Or, maybe, we just stop buying their stuff?
From Earth Times:
The world's wealthiest nations should pay for China to cut its pollution coming from exports, Chinese officials said Monday amid sensitive talks with the United States on how to reach a new deal to combat global warming. China - the world's largest polluter together with the United States - has a plan in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming even as its economy grows rapidly, said Li Gao, director of China's department of climate change.

But in a sign of the tough barriers remaining to a new global deal on cutting those emissions, Li said China would hold rich nations responsible for between 15 per cent to 25 per cent of its emissions that come from manufacturing goods made for export. The cost of reducing those emissions "should be taken by the consumers, but not the producers," Li told a forum by the non- partisan Pew Centre on Global Climate Change. He added that wealthy nations like the US and Japan should "bear in mind the historical responsibility" for causing global warming....MORE
Of course it would have to be a grassroots thing, the U.S. Treasury having become rather dependent on the kindness of Chinese treasury purchases.