Chemical waste from Jiangsu Taixing Chemical Industrial District dumped on top of the Yangtze River bank. May 15, 2009 Photo by Lu Guang

Overall, China is now the world’s leading emitter of greenhouse gas that leads to global warming. Per capita, the United States is still far and away the leader on that, but our emissions are on track to start falling soon, mainly because of the economy and the EPA is beginning to more aggressively regulate clean air and water. It’s also possible that we will get some type of climate change legislation soon; and many other factors such as new technologies and a clean energy and jobs focus. We really don’t know what the future holds, but it looks as though the Bush years of inaction on climate change really are over. We can still be optimistic on this, even if the start on emissions reductions is slow. Due to worsening climate events across the world, that may finally change.

We may not be sure what China is doing to solve climate change, but they are not ending their use of coal.  As far as toxic pollution goes, China still has a huge problem.

This group of photos is part of a photo essay on China’s pollution.  All photos are by Chinese freelance photographer, Lu Guang.

We can’t be sure what other countries are planning to do on climate change, despite their public pronouncements and despite what they said at Copenhagen.  It’s possible that they don’t mean to reduce emissions as much as they tell reporters and their own public.  We will only know by what they eventually do.

Rajendra Pachauri of the IPCC thinks the grouping at Copenhagen of India, China, Brazil and South Africa (BASIC) will make that group stronger and more relevant.  Hopefully it will not remain  a group that stalls and refuses to make binding agreements,  as it seemed to do in Copenhagen.  India admitted it and the other BASIC countries were the reason that a binding agreement was blocked:

In November, the BASIC countries forged a united front in Beijing to put pressure on developed countries in Copenhagen.  India said the BASIC countries were successful in thwarting global pressure to agree to a legally-binding emissions cut.

Interestingly, The Guardian is not taking the side of those who say the U.S. skewered the climate talks, but are reporting that China was the country that contributed the most to that.

It’s interesting that India and China might be the main reasons we didn’t get a binding agreement in Copenhagen, given the attacks on the performance there of the United States by so many.  Even usually fair alternative U.S. media seemed to (without any proof of any kind) blame Obama for what they called the “failure” of Copenhagen.  Yet according to the Guardian:

“The truth is this: China wrecked the talks, intentionally humiliated Barack Obama, and insisted on an awful “deal” so western leaders would walk away carrying the blame. How do I know this? [...]