China’s politicians have legitimate historical reasons for expecting the industrialised West to take the lead on dealing with climate change. China is responsible for only 11% of past emissions while the West has flourished from centuries of burning fossil fuels.
However, China is now the main decider on the future global temperature and climate of the world, whether it likes it or not.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon this week invites World Leaders to New York to break the deadlock on negotiating what to do about the international challenge of climate change. This is why my colleagues and I have published our latest annual update on the global carbon budget, to help focus minds. You can view the carbon budget like the housekeeping budget. How much carbon did all countries of the world last year spend, or emit to the atmosphere, and how much have we left to avoid dangerous climate change?