" ... the United States has done more for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions than China ever has ...
... Former President Obama committed the United States to the Paris Climate Accord in 2015, and regarded the Paris Climate Accord as one of his “legacy” projects, even refusing to issue a permit to the Keystone XL pipeline.
... The Heritage Foundation estimates the United States’ commitment to the Paris Accord would cost the average American family of four $20,000, and the national gross domestic product $2.5 trillion by 2035, while achieving an insignificant amount of reduction in global temperature.
In 2017, President Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Accord, an action he explained to be both “in America’s economic interest” and “won’t matter much to the climate.”
... and vowed that under his administration, the United States would “continue to be the cleanest and most environmentally friendly country on Earth.”
... his decision was widely condemned by environmental activists ...
Now, the verdict is in (from the) latest climate report released by the United Nations.
In combating GHG emissions, there’s nothing but good news to report about the United States.
The United States’ overall GHG emissions “have been in decline (0.4 percent per year)” over the last decade, while those of China continue to spike up, growing at an average of 2.4 percent per year.
... GHG emissions on a per capita basis in the United States is still the highest in the world, (but) the number is coming down sharply, while those of other major economies such as China and India are trending up.
... GHG emissions in the United States continued to go down even after the Trump administration withdrew from the Paris Accord.
The continued reduction came when the United States was experiencing a booming economy, and the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline was underway.
... the U.N. report (said) global greenhouse gas emissions continued to grow for the third consecutive year in 2019.
... The main culprit of this worsening trend is China, a nation that “emits more than one-quarter of global GHG emissions and has per capita emissions that are around 40 percent above the global average.”
... China’s annual GHG emission is almost equivalent to the sum of those of the United States of America, EU27+UK, and India.
... China’s leader, Xi Jinping, knows how to talk the “green talk” to appeal to left-wingers in the west, while doing nothing they actually want on this issue.
When the United States withdrew from the Paris Accord in 2017, Xi ... said: “The Paris agreement is a milestone in the history of climate governance. We must ensure this endeavor is not derailed … China will continue to take steps to tackle climate change and fully honor its obligations.”
The Global Energy Monitor estimates that China will need to reduce its coal power capacity by 40 percent over the next decade to meet its climate goal as stated in the Paris agreement.
... Since signing up for the Paris Accord, China has built more new coal plants ... than any other country, just as its coal plant capacity is expected to increase 10 percent by 2025.
... the Chinese government made building coal-fired power plants abroad a top priority within its controversial global infrastructure program, “Belt and Road.”
According to Edward Cunningham, a specialist on China at Harvard University, China is “building or planning more than 300 coal plants in places as widely spread as Turkey, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Egypt, and the Philippines.”
... National Public Radio reported that more than 25 percent of coal plants outside China that are under construction by Chinese contractors are financed by Chinese state-owned financial institutions.
... at last year’s U.N. gathering, Xi pledged that China would be “carbon neutral” by 2060.
Although today’s Chinese government has a long history of making promises it has no intention of keeping, it hasn’t stopped some leftists in the west from taking Xi’s empty promise at face value once again.
In exchange for China’s “cooperation” on climate change, some on the left are willing to pretend they do not notice the gross human rights violations the CCP has committed, such as the genocide of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.
... Beijing is fully aware of John Kerry’s eagerness to strike a deal on climate change and will take advantage of it."