"China is the world's biggest emitter of CO2 and that number is probably only going to get bigger.
But, hang on a minute.
China makes nearly everything we buy. China buys shiploads of our resources. So China is making some of those emissions on our behalf to make cheap stuff for us. In order to make that cheap stuff, China buys the materials from us.
So, is it ok that the Chinese can be our factories and buy our produce, but they are not allowed to produce any CO2 ?
Is it not ok for the average Chinese person to aspire to the living standard of the average Australian ?"
After having been away from this forum for a few days, I come back to find a post that makes the very argument that I have been making all along, namely that there is an inevitability for emissions continuing to rise irrespective of what Australia - or other developing countries like Australia - do.
"Because of all that, it is imperative that countries like Australia lead the way to help countries like China manage their emissions. China is spending plenty to manage emissions. They are adapting technology developed in the West and now they are even inventing their own."
You're contradicting yourself.
Where's the imperative for Australia to lead China when China is already "spending plenty to manage emissions, adapting Western technology as well as inventing their own"?
Based on that, China is doing just fine on its own without the need to be "led" by Australia.
