Climate Change Conference Collapses as China Backs Down from Emission Commitments, by John Xenakis. This particular hypocrisy about climate has long been present, but it’s worth a reminder.

China is demanding that it not be held to any climate change standards whatsoever. In return for all the money they are getting from the rich countries starting in 2020, the developing countries are supposed to start reducing emissions in 2020.

The issues are transparency and bookkeeping. Each country is required to open its accounting books to prove that it is meeting its emission reduction commitments.

But China is now demanding “bifurcation.” This is a technical term meaning that the transparency and bookkeeping rules apply only to the rich countries, not to the developing countries.

This means that the “rich” developed countries have to pay all the money and also meet the transparency and bookkeeping rules to prove that they’re meeting their emission commitments.

But the developing countries just have to sit back and collect money, and claim that they are reducing emissions without having to provide any evidence. …

China has the 2nd largest economy in the world, and Chinese people brag that centrally-planned economy is stronger than any other economy in the world. … China is also growing into the worst climate change violator in the world, building a new coal plant every week. And yet, when it comes to climate change, they claim to be a “developing country” so they will not have to provide funding under the Paris accord.