Submitted by Vucea t3_123zxg2 in Futurology
ialsoagree t1_jdyl5yu wrote
Reply to comment by Frostcrisp in The Greenland Ice Sheet is close to a melting point of no return by Vucea
China is not emitting "the vast majority" - they're not even emitting the majority.
Words have meaning, and majority means more than half. China emits around 30% of the total CO2e emissions - not even remotely close to the majority.
The word you are looking for is plurality. China emits a plurality of CO2e. With the US being the only country remotely close behind at 14%. India, the third highest, emits about half of what the US emits, or less than a quarter of what China emits.
The three countries combined equal the majority of global emissions.
Inevitable_Syrup777 t1_jdz78tx wrote
CO2 Emissions by Country
Country Share of world
1 China 29.18% 2 United States 14.02% 3 India 7.09% 4 Russia 4.65%
china literally IS emitting the majority
ialsoagree t1_jdzm8ko wrote
Less than 50% is literally not the majority, it's a plurality.
Realistic_Turn2374 t1_jdzj2dq wrote
For it to emit the majority they would need to emit more than 50%.
What you mean is that they are the country that currently emits the most. Although if we look for cummulative CO2, the US wins by a lot, then it is the European Union and then China. This matters because the C02 that is warming up the environment is not just what we emmit every year, but what we have emmited over all.
China is currently the main emissor, and they do need to do something about it (and they are doing it by being the biggest clean energy producer), but let's not forget that they are the second most populated country in the world and that they manufacture products for the rest of the planet too. The US, in comparison with only a small fraction of their population, pollutes too much.
Inevitable_Syrup777 t1_jdyy4l3 wrote
one country emits 1/3 of the fucking global emissions. I thought they were the smartest country, too!
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