Man With Largest Carbon Footprint In World Signs On To Three Climate Pacts

by William Teach | September 10, 2013 8:24 am

Has anyone noticed the Old Media making a big deal out of these pacts? No? That’s weird

(Grist[1]) Barack Obama is walking the climate-change talk – all around the world. Or at least endorsing climate-change pacts.

More like that latter part, since no one has a larger “carbon footprint” than Mr. Obama. Heck, his footprint just going to play golf every year, what with all the vehicles in the motorcade, is probably larger than the average American’s “carbon footprint”.

A commitment that Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping made[2] during private meetings in June to reduce climate-changing emissions of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, evolved on Friday into a formal agreement between the two nations. From The Washington Post[3]:

The United States and China announced Friday they would seek to eliminate some of the world’s most potent greenhouse gases through the 1987 Montreal Protocol, the landmark treaty that successfully phased out ozone-depleting substances decades ago.

Humorously, this was announced at the G20 in St. Petersburg, Russia, without noting all the “carbon pollution” from flying halfway around the world on fossil fueled planes, which brought all the fossil fueled vehicles for use by these “leaders”.

And in news that’s so closely related you could be forgiven for thinking it’s exactly the same story, all of the countries at the G20 summit, including the U.S., reached a broader agreement to curb emissions of HFCs. From Reuters[4]:

The White House cited the agreement to cooperate on phasing down the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), gases used in refrigerators, air conditioners and some industrial equipment, as one of the “most significant agreements” of the summit.

Do you know what this means? That’s right, your costs go up. And people in 3rd world nations will no longer be able to obtain the benefits from inexpensive refrigeration and air conditioning.

Meanwhile, half a world away from the G20 meeting in Russia, some encouraging news emerged from a summit of Pacific Ocean island states – some of which are at risk of sinking beneath rising seas. From Agence France-Presse[5]:

A new Pacific regional pact calling for aggressive action to combat climate change has achieved a “major accomplishment” by gaining US support, officials said Sunday.

The Majuro Declaration, endorsed by the 15-nation Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) at their summit last week, contains specific pledges on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The US has offered $24 million over 5 years for projects in the islands, and has signed on to the Declaration, despite the sea rise being miniscule[6]. Oh, and the Declaration calls for cutting out all CO2 output. So everyone needs to stop breathing[7].

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove[8]. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach[9].