From Xu Xiao, Shanghai Middle School Green Day Roots & Shoots group head
I’m Xu Xiao from Shanghai Middle School.
About the Copenhagen meeting, I think, on the news on November 7, we saw developed nations doing everything they could to delay; they’re destroying this planet for the sake of their own economies. Maybe they’re thinking about what they’ll do after they have developed their economies, but this is not worth considering. The usual methods of calculating opportunity costs cannot be applied to the issue of global warming. The absence of African representatives, the fleeing of western nations, all means that the Copenhagen meeting will struggle to achieve its aims.
China and other nations request that developed nations make specific targets on emissions reduction through their own emissions, carbon trading and forestry – not just talk emptily about their stance. But we must admit that it is very difficult to request developed nations to pay to make changes. For one thing, there is constant debate over who should be responsible for the global environment – but this is not worthy of discussion. Both developed and developing nations should not have this many differences. The only aim is to save the environment.
Could it be that these nations will not reach agreement until they realise that there are no national borders to the environment, and this is all for the sake of appearances? I do not hold out much hope for this meeting. It may achieve some results, but there is no way it will change the roots of the current situation.