It depends on what “it” is.Do you think we'll manage it?
The major polluters are often producing goods for those who claim not to pollute, we have just exported the problem. I fully agree that as an individual we have almost zero impact, but as a global population we do. In my opinion it will be a long slow process over decades before we really focus on the environment, the richer countries will move first and hopefully will export the technologies produced to the less well off countries, where quite frankly the environment is the last thing on their mind.It depends on what 'we' is.
The UK is responsible for a tiny proportion of the problem, so if we all went back to living in caves tomorrow it would have very little impact.
Which is not an excuse to do nothing, but it's the major polluters which need to get their acts properly together.
As one measure, the list of top CO2 producers:
- China.
- The United States.
- India.
- The Russian Federation.
- Japan.
The major polluters are often producing goods for those who claim not to pollute, we have just exported the problem. I fully agree that as an individual we have almost zero impact, but as a global population we do. In my opinion it will be a long slow process over decades before we really focus on the environment, the richer countries will move first and hopefully will export the technologies produced to the less well off countries, where quite frankly the environment is the last thing on their mind.
We are seeing lower CO2 because we are exporting our manufacturing abroad, if you take that into account the CO2 we are responsible for has risen. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/04/climate/outsourcing-carbon-emissions.htmlWe are among the lowest polluters of the industrialised nations, so I think our biggest contribution can be from leading the way in reducing pollution.
In other words, we use what has recently been called our 'soft power' to influence others.
We still have the fifth or sixth biggest economy in the world (by GDP), yet we barely make the top 20 in terms of CO2 production.
Also heartening to see in this CO2 table from 2016, which was the most recent which popped up on google, we are leading the way in percentage CO2 reduction.
Many countries were still increasing theirs, and the major players were showing comparatively weedy reductions.
https://www.worldometers.info/co2-emissions/co2-emissions-by-country/
That should be a short term consequence of another problem that we should fix. It is not in itself a problem with electric vehicles so I think it is unhelpful to link them.It looks like a few ECO cars are going to be belching coal in the next few days.
Though it does make the point that EVs don't run on stardust & fresh air.That should be a short term consequence of another problem that we should fix. It is not in itself a problem with electric vehicles so I think it is unhelpful to link them.
Though it does make the point that EVs don't run on stardust & fresh air.
We are also responsible for historic CO2 emissions over 200 years. It's a global problem, and the whole world needs to act, including us. Suggesting that we can do what we like and leaving it up to the US and China isn't going to wash with the rest of the world. The UK will probably end up just as fubarred as anywhere in the end.It depends on what 'we' is.
The UK is responsible for a tiny proportion of the problem, so if we all went back to living in caves tomorrow it would have very little impact.
Which is not an excuse to do nothing, but it's the major polluters which need to get their acts properly together.
As one measure, the list of top CO2 producers:
- China.
- The United States.
- India.
- The Russian Federation.
- Japan.
We have to do as much as we can, and being a wealthy nation we should be able to do more than many others. Not because we were one of the early and biggest polluters but because it is the right thing to do now.We are also responsible for historic CO2 emissions over 200 years. It's a global problem, and the whole world needs to act, including us. Suggesting that we can do what we like and leaving it up to the US and China isn't going to wash with the rest of the world. The UK will probably end up just as fubarred as anywhere in the end.