China's radical proposal

China proposes a distribution of 'leftover'
emissions to reach 2 degree target. The proposal calculates the exact per capita emissions allowed over the time frame 1950-2050 for the world to avoid serious climate change, and all countries are permitted equal per capita emissions, on average over this time frame. What is new about this proposal is that it heavily emphasises the historical emissions, measuring emissions from 1950. Each human being has the right to emit the same amount of CO2, but the US has already exceeded the amount it is allowed to emit per capita for this period even by 2011, so it must already offset these with emissions 'not polluted' from countries such as China, who are beneath the total per capita level.


Germany thinks too much time has been spent on presenting this proposal rather than building a Kyoto successor, and New Zealand notes that this incentivises population growth. China answers it has been criticised in the past for its rigorous population growth measures, and emphasises the 2007 population baseline for avoiding perverse incentives.