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Carbon tax is eco-imperialism
By Ming Jinwei |
July 29, 2009, Wednesday
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EUROPEAN Union environment ministers recently rejected a French proposal to levy carbon tariffs on carbon-intensive imports from developing countries.
The proposal was made and rejected at a meeting in the northern Swedish town of Aare. The outcome shows that the proposal, as part of efforts to deal with climate change, is not winning much support even among Western countries.
Some in the West claim that developed countries' efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions will be effective only when major developing countries follow their path, and that the introduction of carbon tariffs will force developing countries to make more concessions.
They also claim that imposing punitive carbon tariffs on imports from developing countries will "level the playing field" for Western companies, which are required to pay for their emissions, while their counterparts in developing countries have no such obligation.
The carbon tariffs proposal, wrapped up in a "green veil," seemingly upholds a moral high ground, but it is fundamentally flawed in essence.
The proposal does not take into account economic and social challenges that developing countries face when trying to reduce emissions, and neither does it address the historical duty and responsibility of developed countries in fighting global warming.
At the meeting in Aare, German State Secretary for Environment Matthias Machnig said carbon tariffs are "a new form of eco-imperialism."
Developed countries all have undergone their own process of industrialization.
Historically, developed countries should accept much of the blame for the accumulation of greenhouse gases and for climate change in general.
In practice, developed countries, with their economic clout and technological know-how, are in a better position to play a bigger role in reducing emissions.
When meeting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing on Friday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said it is important to stick to the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" when responding to climate change.
UN climate change talks have entered a complicated stage, and the carbon tariffs proposal will harm the efforts by negotiating parties to cut a broad deal on tackling climate change at a key UN meeting, scheduled for December in the Danish capital of Copenhagen.
(The author is a senior writer at Xinhua news agency.)
The proposal was made and rejected at a meeting in the northern Swedish town of Aare. The outcome shows that the proposal, as part of efforts to deal with climate change, is not winning much support even among Western countries.
Some in the West claim that developed countries' efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions will be effective only when major developing countries follow their path, and that the introduction of carbon tariffs will force developing countries to make more concessions.
They also claim that imposing punitive carbon tariffs on imports from developing countries will "level the playing field" for Western companies, which are required to pay for their emissions, while their counterparts in developing countries have no such obligation.
The carbon tariffs proposal, wrapped up in a "green veil," seemingly upholds a moral high ground, but it is fundamentally flawed in essence.
The proposal does not take into account economic and social challenges that developing countries face when trying to reduce emissions, and neither does it address the historical duty and responsibility of developed countries in fighting global warming.
At the meeting in Aare, German State Secretary for Environment Matthias Machnig said carbon tariffs are "a new form of eco-imperialism."
Developed countries all have undergone their own process of industrialization.
Historically, developed countries should accept much of the blame for the accumulation of greenhouse gases and for climate change in general.
In practice, developed countries, with their economic clout and technological know-how, are in a better position to play a bigger role in reducing emissions.
When meeting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing on Friday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said it is important to stick to the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" when responding to climate change.
UN climate change talks have entered a complicated stage, and the carbon tariffs proposal will harm the efforts by negotiating parties to cut a broad deal on tackling climate change at a key UN meeting, scheduled for December in the Danish capital of Copenhagen.
(The author is a senior writer at Xinhua news agency.)
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