The whole damn Kyoto treaty. From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_treaty
The treaty was negotiated in
Kyoto, Japan in December 1997, opened for signature on
March 16,
1998, and closed on
March 15,
1999. The agreement came into force on
February 16,
2005 following ratification by
Russia on
November 18,
2004. As of December 2006, a total of 169 countries and other governmental entities have ratified the agreement (representing over 61.6% of emissions from Annex I countries).
[7][8] Notable exceptions include the
United States and
Australia. Other countries, like
India and
China, which have ratified the protocol, are not required to reduce carbon emissions under the present agreement despite their relatively large populations.
People's Republic of China
The People's Republic of China insists that the gas emissions level of any given country is a multiplication of its per capita emission and its population. China endorses this because of the advantage it would get within the new restrictions. Because China has emplaced
population control measures while maintaining low emissions per capita, it claims it should therefore in both the above aspects be considered a contributor to the world environment. China considers the criticism of its energy policy unjust.
[31] China is currently the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and as of first-half 2007, is expected to become the largest by second-half 2007.
[3] In 2004 the total greenhouse gas emissions from China were about 54% of the USA emissions
[4]. China is now building on average a coal-fired power plant every week and plans to continue doing so for years
[5][6]. Some predictions (in 2006) are that China will emit more greenhouse gas than the USA in 2 or 3 years
[7] [8].
European Union
