7.6 - Superpowers and the environment

Cards (10)

  • Chinese superpowered demands
    • Consumes half of the world's coal but only has 20% of the world's population
    • Largest producer and importer of iron ore (used for steel)
    • Mined 1.5b tonnes in 2014 - wasn't enough for demand, imported 993m tonnes
  • Superpowered environmental degradation
    • Urban air quality
    • Transportation of fossil fuels, food, minerals and manufactured goods
    • Land use change and agriculture contribute to 25% of global emissions
    • Increased water pollution from illegal dumping of waste industry
  • Air pollution in China
    • WHO estimates air pollution is responsible for 2 million deaths in China per year
    • 1900-2013 global carbon dioxide emissions rose by 53%; China's increased by 286%
  • Global willingness to act
    • Poorer countries going net zero won’t offset richer nations' impact
    • High cost of transitioning to renewables
    • Some nations (e.g., India) reject fossil-fuel-based development
    • Lack of funding for green tech in developing countries (e.g., South Sudan)
    • Unfair to demand change when developed nations haven’t
    • Social and cultural resistance to climate action
    • National benefits outweigh action costs
  • Superpower attitudes
    • China: Agreed to peak emissions by 2030, committed to targets in 2016
    • USA: Wind power tripled, solar energy grew 10x (2005-15); Obama promoted renewables, Trump disputed climate change and pulled out of Paris Agreement
    • Russia: Signed Paris Agreement, promised 30% reduction in CO2 by 1990 levels, may increase emissions
    • EU: Prioritized climate change, implemented carbon trading and emissions reductions, renewable energy targets (10% by 2010, 20% by 2020)
  • China's middle class
    • Poverty in China - 750m on less than $2 a day in 1990, less than 10m in 2020
    • 80m middle class in 2002, 700m in 2020
    • More middle class means more demand on resources, resulting in environmental exploitation to maintain this
  • Nutrition transition
    • A change in diet from staple carbohydrates to protein, dairy and fat, often including more processed foods
    • Occurs when people transition from rural poverty to urban middle class - China
  • Staple foods
    • Carbohydrates relied on and eaten in large quantities e.g. potatoes, wheat, brean in Europe and North America, rice in Asia
    • Importatnt to regional food security
  • Rare Earth Elements
    • A group of metal elements used for modern communication and medical technology
    • Hard to mine
    • Costly and limited supply
  • Implications of growing middle-class in China
    • 90% of global growth in sea traffic in the 21st century driven by China
    • China produced 33% of global steel, and copper prices doubled from 2008-10
    • Increased consumption: cereal +364%, meat +99%, coffee +71%
    • Renewable freshwater of 2000 tonnes per capita, double UN water scarcity threshold
    • 70% of water used for farming in Northern China, facing water scarcity
    • 1 billion Chinese own mobile phones, made with non-renewable resources