cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/28973386
An Australian economist has argued China has “hoodwinked” the world on net zero in what he acknowledges could be seen as a “controversial” take.
Leith Van Onselen, chief economist at the MB Fund and MB Super and co-founder of MacroBusiness, told 4BC host Mike Jeffreys that while Australia and other countries are making sacrifices for the good of the planet, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter is not, and therefore “we’re basically shooting ourselves in the foot”.
“I’d argue China is the largest beneficiary of the West’s net zero policies,” Mr Van Onselen said on the radio show.
“It’s not abiding by the same rules and what we’re effectively doing is, while we’re reducing our carbon footprints through these sorts of policies and giving us expensive energy and shutting down manufacturing and becoming less diversified economies, China is simply expanding its carbon output and expanding its manufacturing sector at our expense.
“The world’s not getting cleaner. We’re just shifting the pollution away from us, to China, and it’s actually less regulated in China.”
…
He referred to a Reuters report from August that found China had boosted domestic coal production and imports to record highs.
It said production from China’s mines hit a seasonal record of 390 million tonnes in July 2024, up from 378 million in the same month a year earlier, and imports surged to a seasonal record of 296 million tonnes in the first seven months from 261 million tonnes in 2023.
Mr Van Onselen concluded: “I think we can all agree we’d like to have a cleaner planet but the whole idea of net zero is completely impossible or ridiculous if China is not involved.
“If we’re going to make sacrifices, China has to make sacrifices.”
This really reads like FUD to manufacture consent for abandoning emissions reduction.
And it’s published on news.com.au, a Murdoch property.
Yep, typical Murdoch propaganda, identify the enemy, use narrow identification of issues and tortuously extend the conclusion to reject the whole. Reason? ‘They’re your enemy.’
For another perspective have a listen to this conversation,
Decouple, on China’s Electrification
This week, we go to China. I spoke with David Fishman, senior manager at The Lantau Group, on the motivations and strategy behind China’s world-leading electrification efforts. What seems like a climate-action utopia to Western analysts appears to be a pragmatic response to pollution and energy security concerns. China’s vulnerability to maritime oil blockades has spurred aggressive electrification across transport, industry, and urban infrastructure; and its state capitalist model has enabled a pace and scale of investment in nuclear power, electrified transport, and renewable energy that makes Western efforts to achieve an energy transformation look piecemeal.
that’s super tricky
they are also selling absurd amounts of EV’s and wind turbines and solar panels
They are basically fuelling the renewable revolution and soaking up a ton of coal at the same time
As far as I’m aware their co2 output has stalled:
https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-record-surge-of-clean-energy-in-2024-halts-chinas-co2-rise/
Which is amazing considering how absolutely obscene it was before
Now looking at India…
China’s track record regarding the fight against climate change is -very much as those of most other larger countries- an absolute disaster: https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/china
China built out record amount of wind and solar power in 2024
China raced ahead building renewable energy last year, installing more wind and solar power than ever before and continuing to leave all other countries in the dust.
I have to give credit where credit is due, they are doing incredible with renewables, they are also doing incredible with EV’s, no one is close except for Norway
It hurts me to say this because I’m very anti-ccp but I can’t hate the fact they’re doing extremely well in this regard
Australia has run into a problem where we have pretty much won the solar race and maxed out on solar, we are now racing to build out grid firming (batteries/hydro/wind) to store that excess energy we make to stop the fact that energy prices go negative in the middle of the day which is resulting in solar export prices going to 0c:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/victoria-solar-tariff-2526-mb3093/
“Absolutely world leading:” Why Australia is leading the charge away from baseload power
But this all aside, I’m mainly concerned about India, even if Australia went to 0 India has added 10 Australia’s worth of co2 emissions in the last 20 years and it continues to climb
I don’t remember when and where, but some time ago I read a blog entry where the writer used the term, “The West bad, China bad okay”. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not about your comment alone, it’s all the others in this and other threads. If China is criticized, there come all sorts of whataboutery and distractions -some of them true, some aren’t- but it indeed follows this “The West bad, China bad okay” stance. The fact that China is failing on climate change is simply ignored, while every other country is criticized.
If China is criticized, there come all sorts of whataboutery and distractions -some of them true, some aren’t- but it indeed follows this “The West bad, China bad okay” stance
I think you’ve replied to me rather than someone else, I would never say ‘the west bad’, we are doing amazing
- UK just shut down its last coal power plant
- France building more Nuclear
- Germany going all out on renewables
- EU leading the race in co2 reduction (as you would have seen in the charts I posted above)
- Australia has a record setting state in South Australia
- Bidens Inflation Reduction Act was gold
My comment would very much be “the west good, china was extremely bad but now leading world in renewables, it looks like co2 reductions to follow”
I didn’t mean you in my comment.
