CARBON NEUTRAL
Posted on: August 13, 2021
THIS POST IS A CRITICAL REVIEW OF A BLOOMBERG ARTICLE ABOUT CHINA’S CARBON NEUTRALITY PLEDGE
How China Plans to Become Carbon-Neutral by 2060: Bloomberg News: August 11, 2021, 4:00 AM GMT+7
China’s industrialization has occurred at a breathtaking pace, lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty and transforming the country into the world’s factory floor. That’s also made it the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas driving climate change.
The most-populous nation has set itself the ambitious goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2060, a challenging target given it hasn’t even reached its emissions peak. To get there, President Xi Jinping wants to transition away from an economy reliant on coal and other fossil fuels by switching to renewable energy and developing new technology to capture emissions.
What does “carbon neutral” mean?
It means cutting as much of your carbon dioxide emissions as possible and then offsetting what you can’t eliminate. For a country, this could mean switching to renewable energy such as solar power instead of coal and investing in projects that absorb carbon dioxide, such as reforestation. Carbon neutral has become a goal of companies and countries alike to address public concerns about the impact emissions have on the climate.
What is China’s goal?
Even though China is the world’s second-largest economy, it’s still classified as a developing nation and hasn’t reached its emissions peak. That’s forecast to come by 2030, with Xi committing to carbon neutrality by 2060, 10 years after the U.S. deadline set by President Joe Biden. If China pulls it off, it would be the fastest decline from peak emissions among major economies, speedier than Europe’s goal of 70 years and the U.S. target of 40 years. China’s plan, which the country’s climate envoy said includes all greenhouse gases and not just carbon dioxide, would boost global efforts to limit the rise in temperatures and potentially give it greater sway in global matters.
What needs to be done?
China has to find replacements for the fossil fuels that have powered its economy and rapid urbanization. A key early step was taken in July when China opened the world’s largest carbon trading market, creating a framework for how emissions are priced and regulated in the country. It’s already pushing the expansion of electric vehicles and automation while investing in nuclear power, which doesn’t emit greenhouse gases. There is more spending on research into technologies such as storage batteries and using hydrogen as a fuel to complement low-emissions energy sources. The government will have develop more wind and solar power projects so that coal-fired plants play a smaller role in generating electricity. Local authorities have been told to develop regional plans to lower emissions and some have already taken measures to curb what they perceive as wasteful uses of electricity, such as Bitcoin mining.
China’s goal of carbon neutrality is shared across China’s key institutions and is a top priority for the PBOC. The central bank removed so-called clean-coal projects from its definitions of green bonds while pledging to revamp tools so it can offer cheap funds for banks to encourage more environmentally focused loans. Regulators also plan to adjust the rules on capital adequacy and how it counts green assets. At the end of March, China’s outstanding green loans stood at 14 trillion yuan, an amount set to expand at a rapid pace.
CRITICAL COMMENTARY
AS EXPLAINED IN A CLIMATE SCIENCE LECTURE IN A RELATED POST:
LINK: https://tambonthongchai.com/2020/06/19/vegandiet/
AND AS IMPLIED BY THE ANALYSIS OF CARBON CREDIT MARKETS IN ANOTHER RELATED POST:
LINK: https://tambonthongchai.com/2019/09/30/cer/
WE ARGUE THAT ANTHROPOGENIC GLOBAL WARMING CAN BE UNDERSTOOD ONLY IN TERMS OF FOSSIL FUEL EMISSIONS AND NOT IN TERMS OF CARBON CYCLE FLOWS; AND LIKEWISE CLIMATE ACTION CAN UNDERSTOOD ONLY IN TERMS OF REDUCTIONS IN FOSSIL FUEL EMISSIONS AND NOT IN TERMS OF CARBON CYCLE INTERVENTIONS.
THE ADDITONAL ISSUE IN CARBON NEUTRALITY IS THAT IT IS PROPOSED IN TERMS OF PLANTING TREES SO THAT PHOTOSYNTHESIS CAN SERVE TO OFFSET FOSSIL FUEL EMISSIONS. THIS OFFSET PROPOSITION CONTAINS A FATAL FLAW AS EXPLAINED IN THIS RELATED POST:
LINK: https://tambonthongchai.com/2021/05/20/the-power-of-trees/
HERE WE NOTE AS FOLLOWS
ABOUT THE WORLD’S TREES
THE MATH IN TERMS OF LAND AREA
- THERE ARE 8.7E9 HECTARES OF LAND ON EARTH WHERE TREES CAN BE GROWN.
- OF THAT, 5.5E9 HECTARES ALREADY HAVE TREES.
- THIS MEANS THAT THE MAXIMUM PHOTOSYNTHESIS IMPACT OF HUMANS PLANTING TREES IS (8.7-5.5)/8.7 OR LESS THAN 37%. OF TOTAL LAND PHOTOSYNTHESIS.
- HOWEVER, 50% TO 80% OF THE WORLD’S PHOTOSYNTHESIS IS IN THE OCEAN. TAKING THE MIDPOINT OF THIS RANGE WE CAN SAY THAT ON AVERAGE THE OCEAN PROVIDES 65% OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND LAND ONLY 35%.
- THEREFORE, THE MAXIMUM HUMAN IMPACT OF PLANTING TREES IS TO INCREASE PHOTOSYNTHESIS BY 37% OF 35% OR ABOUT 13% AT MOST.
- THIS MAXIMUM POSSIBLE IMPACT OF HUMANS PLANTING TREES IS WELL WITHIN THE UNCERTAINTY RANGE OF GLOBAL PHOTOSYNTHESIS ESTIMATIONS.
- THEREFORE NO MEASURABLE OR STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT PHOTOSYNTHESIS EFFECT IS POSSIBLE BY HUMANS PLANTING TREES.
THE MATH IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF TREES
ON AVERAGE THERE ARE 1600 TREES PER HECTARE. ON THIS BASIS WE CAN EXPRESS THE MATH PRESENTED ABOVE IN TERMS OF HOW MANY TREES.
IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF TREES, THERE ARE MORE THAN 8,800 BILLION TREES IN THE WORLD’S FORESTS. THIS MEANS THAT FOR EACH BILLION TREES YOU PLANT, WE WILL INCREASE THE WORLD’S LAND PHOTOSYNTHESIS BY 0.011%. HOWEVER, PHOTOSYNTHESIS IS MOSTLY IN THE OCEAN WITH LAND PHOTOSYNTHESIS ACCOUNTING FOR NO MORE THAN 35% OF THE WORLD’S PHOTOSYNTHESIS. THIS MEANS THAT FOR EACH BILLION TREES YOU PLANT YOU WILL INCREASE THE WORLD’S PHOTOSYNTHESIS BY 0004% AND THUS SAVE THE PLANET. THANK YOU.
THE BIGGER ISSUE IS THE ASSUMED CLIMATE CHANGE CONTEXT
THE THEORY OF ANTHROPOGENIC GLOBAL WARMING IS SPECIFIC TO FOSSIL FUEL EMISSIONS AS THE CAUSE AND ITS CESSATION AS THE REMEDY. IT SAYS THAT THE CARBON IN FOSSIL FUELS IS MILLIONS OF YEARS OLD OR PERHAPS GEOLOGICAL BUT CERTAINLY NOT PART OF THE CURRENT ACCOUNT OF THE CARBON CYCLE. THEREFORE, THE INJECTION OF THIS EXTERNAL CARBON IS AN UNNATURAL PERTURBATION OF THE CARBON CYCLE THAT CAUSES ATMOSPHERIC CO2 TO RISE AND CAUSE A DANGEROUS MAN MADE WARMING. THE CLIMATE ACTION OF THE HUMANS DEMANDED BY CLIMATE SCIENCE IS THAT WE MUST STOP BURNING FOSSIL FUELS. THE ODD INTERPRETATION OF THIS CLIMATE ACTION THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO BURN FOSSIL FUELS IF WE MAKE THE EQUIVALENT CARBON CYCLE INTERVENTION TO OFFSET OUR FOSSIL FUEL EMISSIONS WITH INCREASED PHOTOSYNTHESIS OF TREES IS INCONSISTENT WITH THE THEORY OF ANTHROPOGENIC GLOBAL WARMING.
SEE ALSO: https://tambonthongchai.com/2020/06/19/vegandiet/
CONCLUSION: CARBON NEUTRALITY IS A FARCE. THIS FARCE WAS INVENTED BY THE WEST TO FOOL THE EAST AND TO CONVINCE THE EAST THAT THE WEST IS SERIOUS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE AND SO THEY SHOULD BE TOO.
IT IS NOW BEING USED BY THE EAST TO FOOL THE WEST BY APPEARING TO MEET THEIR DEMANDS FOR CLIMATE ACTION.
Thongchai Thailand 
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