“These products are consumed by other countries…”
“These products are consumed by other countries… This share of emissions should be taken by the consumers but not the producers” (Li Gao, China’s climate change negotiator)
This quote comes from this BBC news atricle dealing with talks held in Washington ahead of a major conference in Copenhagen, which was attended by Mr Li and envoys from Japan and the EU. That meeting in Denmark, planned for December, aims at starting negotiations regarding a new international treaty on climate change.
China’s latest suggestion would see its own huge export sector be exempted from any new treaty. Beijing argues that rich nations buying Chinese goods bear responsibility for the estimated 15-25% of China’s carbon emissions that are created by its production of exports.
“It is a very important item to make a fair agreement,” Mr Li said in Washington.He argued that it was unfair to put the highest burden on China. “We are at the low end of the production line for the global economy,” he said. “We produce products and these products are consumed by other countries, especially the developed countries. This share of emissions should be taken by the consumers but not the producers,” he said. Mr Li also criticised proposals by the US to place carbon tariffs on goods imported from countries that do not limit those gases blamed for a rises in global temperatures. “If developed countries set a barrier in the name of climate change for trade, I think it is a disaster,” Mr Li said.
Scepticism
Working out quite how to put Mr Li’s suggestion into practice would be a logistical nightmare, other delegates in Washington said, even if the idea was ever agreed in principle. Asking importers to handle emissions “would mean that we would also like them to have jurisdiction and legislative powers in order to control and limit those,” top EU climate negotiator Artur Runge-Metzger said. “I’m not sure whether my Chinese colleague would agree on that particular point,” he said. “I think the issue here is we take full responsibility and we… regulate all the emissions that come from our territory,” said Mr Runge-Metzger.
Question: What difference does it make whether the importer or the manufacturer bears the cost – (in simple terms) the endresult should be a higher price and a decreased demand (of course depending on the particular product)…or not ?
