Withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol

Why should the British people (as well as peoples of Europe) have to make huge economic sacrifices, ('green taxes, more expensive petrol, and air travel) to curb greenhouse gases, whilst developing nations such as China and India show no desire to curb their own??

China will overtake the United States as the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases this year, the Chinese economy, which is now growing at the unprecedented rate of 11 per cent annually, is sending carbon emissions from China's mushrooming coal-fired power stations beyond those of the whole of the US, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in April,this year.

EA estimates that the Chinese, who in 2006 are thought to have emitted about 5,600 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the Americans' 5,900, will this year emit about 6,020 million tonnes of CO2 to about 5,910 from the US. (Britain by contrast emits about 550 million tonnes.) Some claim these emissions cause the atmosphere to warm.

In the IEA's report; Fatih Birol, it's chief economist says; The future emissions of China, India and their fellows are increasingly recognised as the key to the future in preventing global warming. Their growth will swamp any cuts that the industrialised countries can make in emissions of their own; developed country cuts would have a "minimal" effect on the future C02 position compared to Chinese growth.

Mr Birol emphasised the scale of the problem yesterday by pointing out that in the next eight years alone, the Chinese would install, as new, as much energy generating plant as currently exists today in all of the 25 countries of the expanded European Union- a total of 800 gigawatts.

Ninety per cent of this would be coal-fired, that is, producing the most C02, and most of this, he said, would last for 50 to 60 years - "you can't shut down a power station after five or 10 years as that would be economic suicide".

Until China and India, sign up to Kyoto Protocol. The United Kingdom should withdraw from the treaty.

User Comments / Have Your Say

The opinions and views expressed in the above comment are purely those of the writer and in no way reflect the opinions or views of the Daily Express website, the Daily Express newspaper or Northern And Shell Media Publications. We accept no responsibilty legal or otherwise for the accurancy or truth of this comment.