Stop Blaming China To Save Yourself From Climate Action

Why buy eco friendly products? Why go vegan? Why should I boycott plastic goods? Why should I recycle? BECAUSE AFTER ALL, CLIMATE CHANGE AND PLASTIC POLLUTION ARE ALL THE FAULT OF CHINA AND BIG BUSINESS AND ANYTHING I DO WON'T MAKE THE SLIGHTEST BIT OF DIFFERENCE!

Wrong.

So wrong.

I'm sick and tired of the argument. It's used time and time again by people who fall into one or more of these categories:

- They are too lazy to change their ways for the good of the whole population of the planet.

- They are too selfish to do it.

- They're uneducated - for this, blame governments for underfunding schools and much of the media for not giving the full story to adults.

- They work for, or invest in, a company that is playing its part in destroying the environment.

- They're so wrapped up in nationalism and politics that they don't see the big picture - that climate change is already claiming lives in all countries right across the world, whatever party is in power. (I had one person tell me, seriously, that the climate crisis was a hoax in order to install communism in the United States. I don't even have the words..)

Isn't It Pointless Taking Individual Action?

I'll get on to China's role in the climate crisis soon, and tell you which SINGLE country is meeting its climate goals.

But before then, let's address the subject of the futility of it all. I mean, why should you recycle a breakfast cereal box when big chemical plants are pumping vast clouds of CO2 into the atmosphere every second?

I get it. It feels pointless at times. But be clear - it isn't pointless and futile at all. Change starts at the grassroots.

And not only that, the main reason for living a more sustainable, eco friendly lifestyle, and encouraging others to do the same, is to change people's MINDSET.

The future is going to be very different for all of us. You've got to get your heads around this. Many of the habits we have grown up with are going to have to change, many of the things we eat and drink, the vehicles we drive, the transport we use, the policies we vote for... so many things MUST change because the future of life on earth depends on this seismic shift to occur.

Unless people learn to accept this, unless people make peace with the fact that the climate emergency is upon us and vast changes are needed, then nothing is actually going to change. And that's suicide.

Why People Are Eating Less Meat

Let's take food and drink. Let's focus on meat and dairy. The UN estimates that rearing livestock accounts for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Clearly its a big player and changes MUST be made to the industry.

By the way, this is sometimes where you'll get a farmer, an uneducated or a politically motivated person claiming 'yeah well what about vegans ruining the world - most of the forests are cut down to plant soy beans!'

Yeah... and more than 90% of those soy beans are used to feed livestock. The growing demand for meat has caused increased deforestation and biodiversity loss.

Anyway, 75 billion animals are slaughtered each year for humans to eat, which makes me sick to the pit of my stomach, but people are moving towards a more plant-based diet for many reasons, not just ethical ones. For the sake of the environment, for the sake of health, for example.

Now, I don't know what the situation is like where you live, when it comes to shopping for food. But I live in the UK and was a vegetarian for 35 years, before turning fully vegan in 2021. So I'm in pole position to notice changes on the shelves.

When I went veggie in the late 80s, there wasn't much help given to aid the diet on supermarket shelves. But as more people became vegetarian over the years, the number of products grew with the demand. It became easier and easier.

The main reason I didn't go full vegan earlier, was because the stores did not offer much choice to make that lifestyle an easy one to live. But now...

Well now, in the new enlightened age, you can't move for the amount of 'plant based' foods, sauces, beers, chocolates, breads - you name it, there's a vegan alternative for almost everything, in almost every store.

This has happened because people like you and me started taking action. We started eating less meat. We demanded more vegan and vegetarian options. So when the profits started getting hit, and when new markets opened with potentially huge gains, the food producers saw business sense in adapting their offerings and changing their ways.

People power DOES work.

And changes are being made to business practices across the board and across the world, with the setting of carbon targets, recycling targets, the introduction of electric vehicle fleets, all sorts of things, as a direct result of people like you and me demanding change, and sometimes assisted by government incentives because they have listened to voters, too.

Never underestimate the power you have to make a positive change.

But what about China?

The United States of America has produced most of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It stays there for a long, long time.

But yes, China is currently producing the most CO2, and has remained committed to coal and gas plants.

But so has India. So has Australia. It doesn't suit political or media agendas to go to verbal war with those countries, though.

China has vowed to achieve net zero emissions by 2060. It even promised that the counrty's emissions would peak before 2030. We will see if that happens.

But China has certainly woken up to the business case for ditching fossil fuels.

Once China discovered it could save money in the short and long term by opting instead for renewable energy, the country began to make the right noises about making positive change.

Since 2013, China has been the world leader in using solar power to feed homes and businesses, ahead of the United States.

Nobody is masking the environmental problems China faces. Its air and water pollution levels are horrendous in some areas.

And nobody is naive enough to ignore the cold war going on with the US, not helped by Trumpeters calling Covid-19 the 'China virus' with conspiracy theorists claiming it was manufactured in a lab.

But I'm only dealing in facts here. In stats. Which leads us on to this...

Which country is meeting its climate targets?

That's a depressing headline isn't it? Which country - singular - is meeting its meeting its pledges under the 2015 Paris Climate Accord to keep temperature rise below 1.5C?

It's not China. It's not the United States. It's none of the major 'powers' in the world.

It's The Gambia. A small country in western Africa.

The Climate Action Tracker report named seven other countries following most closely behind The Gambia's lead - Costa Rica, Kenya, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, and surprisingly, the United Kingdom.

The worst performing countries, at "critically insufficient" levels, were Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Thailand.

But this isn't a competition. I mean, if countries want to see it that way, fair enough, it might help politicians take action quicker.

But in reality, we are all in this together. We all need to play our part towards making the big picture healthier.

And that starts on the ground, where influence grows. That's why it IS important what you and I do. Whether it's eating less meat or educating others about climate facts, we all have power and we all have responsibility.

So stop blaming China. Just get on with doing something useful yourself. Thank you.