IMPORTED GOODS….EMBODIED CO2
While Australia is honoring its obligation to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions, by the closure of several coal fired power stations and replacing them with expensive and intermittent renewables. It has been offset by its outsourcing of emissions in the purchase of an increasingly high proportion of manufactured products from overseas countries, who, under the Paris accord, have no requirement to reduce emissions, and are using coal fired stations in the manufacture of goods exported to Australia.
According to Greenpeace, Australia’s domestic greenhouse gas emissions ranks 12th among the planet’s 195-plus nations. We are 16th in the world for domestic CO2 emissions alone.
The U K Guardian wrote: While China has become the world’s biggest producer of greenhouse-gas emissions, it has also become the world’s second biggest economy on the back of the enormous exports from its vast manufacturing sector.And our per capita emissions are among the highest in the world. So our contribution to global warming is much greater than what we are prepared to admit
The U N framework requires nations to account for emissions produced within their borders. However this approach displaces and unjustly lessens the burden of responsibility of states, companies and consumers that sit “before” or “after” the point where those emissions are released. If the planned increases in Australian coal and gas exports are realised our carbon footprint will more than double again over the coming decades. Little attention had been paid to the trade in unprocessed (or unburned) fossil fuels, which shifts responsibility for emissions from fossil fuel exporting nations and companies to the middle-consumers (the states and companies involved in producing emissions using these fuels for power or manufacturing). Very convenient for the beneficiaries – countries such as Australia, Canada, the Russian Federation,and Saudi Arabia. This means that, in effect, consumers from developed countries have paid China to take on responsibility for more greenhouse-gas emissions.
The Chinese government is reluctant to deal with the problem, insisting that China is taking on voluntary emissions-reduction targets, but is resistant to moves that would force Chinese manufacturers to obey stricter emissions limits.