LETTERS
The Age
Tuesday December 29, 2009
New world power takes some actionSO CHINA scuttled the Copenhagen circus (Comment, 28/12). It seems China is guilty of emerging from the Third World to world power. Its leaders have no desire to strut the world stage like movie stars, they want a better standard of living for their citizens, and they are not threatened by the simplistic naivete of Mark Lynas and his ilk.I thought China's growing strength was fed by global commerce flocking to its cheap factories (which the West would otherwise have in its own backyards) to fill the demand of those who have the money to pay but desire to pay less.Mr Lynas would no doubt lecture us on the effects of our carbon footprints, while China is the only country taking realistic action on population growth (a subject not considered worthy enough to discuss at these talkfests).Chinese people may be forgiven for coveting the standard of living enjoyed by the West, but not, it seems, for depriving Mr Lynas of his champagne at the closing ceremony in Copenhagen.Jack Bryant, CamberwellThey should have knownMARK Lynas' first-hand report of the Copenhagen machinations raises the question: why didn't the negotiators from developed economies simply refuse the Chinese amendments that, effectively, gutted the deal? The result would have been no deal, but in effect that's what we got anyway, and it would have been crystal clear where the blame lay.Furthermore, why weren't the negotiators adequately prepared to respond to such tactics €” it was public knowledge months ago that the latest annual report of the Beijing Climate Centre was planning for two future greenhouse gas scenarios by 2100: carbon dioxide at 550 parts per million (double pre-industrial levels); and 750 ppm, with an average temperature rise across China exceeding 4 degrees. What room did this leave for negotiation at Copenhagen?John O'Hara, Mount WaverleyIssue is one of resourcesMARK Lynas (Comment, 28/12) put up an interesting read on how the Chinese ran their position on climate change. It sounds like they did it brilliantly. This position is driven by two propositions:1. China is powerful because we have allowed our manufacturing sectors to die. It pollutes, we buy.2. China justifies its economic growth as an attempt to lift millions out of poverty. Who are we to deny it this goal?The biggest problem is that there are not enough resources in the world for everyone to have a First World standard of living. Climate change, in this respect, is a sideshow. The main game is a lack of resources. Climate change is merely a consequence. Fixing the resource issue is going to be a lot harder than climate change.Mark Axton, SomersCalling Mr Rudd"CHINA slips past Japan to grab No. 2 spot in world economies" (BusinessDay, 28/12). China is the world's most massive carbon polluter, but insists on "developing country" status , along with Tuvalu, Bangladesh, Somalia and Bolivia. Where are the diplomatic skills of Sinophile "friend of the chairman" Rudd when the world urgently needs them?Carl Keeney, Sunshine North
© 2009 The Age
