The industrial West that account for the vast majority of the 2,500 gigatonnes of atmospheric carbon accumulated since the mid-19th Century
Developing countries that were passive bystanders (or colonies) while the North gobbled up 87pc of the allowable carbon budget, and are now expected both to forgo catch-up growth as well as sharing the full costs of the clean-up.
But the wrath of the South is turning on China, currently responsible for 85pc of all coal plants in development across the world. It already accounts for 28pc of global emissions and this is heading rapidly for the mid-30s.
The old argument that China’s CO2 emissions per capita are far lower than in the West wears thinner each year. It has already overtaken the UK, France, Italy, and Spain by a wide margin, and will be twice as high within a couple of years.
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard Telegraph 8 November 2021
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