Naomi Klein Conveniently Forgets About China!
By Paul Homewood
In her war against capitalism, Naomi Klein claimed:
It’s not that we’re doing nothing – we’re actually actively doing exactly the wrong things. We have an economic system that defines success and progress as infinite economic expansion. Any kind of expansion is deemed good. Our emissions are going up much faster than they were in the 1990s.
I wonder who she means by “our”?
Let’s consider a couple of facts.
Emissions of CO2
tripled.
Far from “going up faster than they were in the 1990’s”, emissions from the OECD countries have actually fallen slightly since 1999. Meanwhile, China’s emissions have tripled.
Coal Production
http://www.worldcoal.org/resources/coal-statistics/
China accounts for 46% of the world’s coal production. In addition, it also imported 327Mt of coal in 2013, taking its consumption up to half the global total.
As the EIA point out, this represents a huge increase for China since the turn of the century.
http://www.eia.gov/countries/cab.cfm?fips=CH
China’s economy, and particularly its heavy industry is a curious hybrid of state control and capitalism. Back in the 1970’s, the Communist Party realised that, if they wanted to become a global economic power, the old discredited soviet system was a non-starter.
Nevertheless, the energy sector in China is dominated by state owned companies, such as CNPC and Sinopec in the oil and gas sectors, and Shenhua, the world’s largest coal company.
These companies in turn are overseen directly by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), a department of China’s State Council, and its associated ministries.
Put simply, nothing happens in China’s energy sector without the approval of the Communist Party.
But none of this matters to Klein, who believes that abolishing capitalism will solve all our problems.
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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
Naomi is not absent-minded, but a talented propaganda artists that carefully selects data for discussion.
Aghhhhhhhhh there is two of them. Or are they the same person?
How China is guiltless (a progressive explanation, not mine):
China would not be using all that coal and polluting were it not for the rich, capitalist countries that buy goods made in China. The United States is directly responsible for a huge amount of the pollution in China. If you doubt this, walk through Walmart. The greedy capitalists in the US are causing China to increase pollution. If the US would just stop buying from China, all would be well.
Note: Yes, the US owes China a lost of money and China might want that debt paid if we stop buying, but progressives think money is evil and no one should worry about debt, so they cannot fathom such an outcome. It’s pure fiction to them. Unthinkable.
Yep. This is pretty-much a word-for-word account of the argument – as it was yelled to me once.
Anyone who believes that centrally planned economies are environmental stewards need only look at Norilsk, the Aral Sea, Baku and the Caspian. Apart from China’s severe air pollution, the use methods banned in the OECD for the production of rare earth metals and pig nickel. Good luck, Naomi!
China is increasing the number of vehicles on its roads every year by TWENTY MILLION. Undoubtedly, this is producing “ahead of the market” – for Western tourists to take taxis.
The issue is wider than just China, although they are by far the biggest total emitter. Back in 1990 there was a clear split in emissions. The OECD countries had 47% of global emissions with just 16% of the world population, and the ex-Warsaw Pact countries 22% of global emissions from 8% of the population. This huge inequality in emissions (along with output) has changed dramatically. By 2020 I estimate the OECD with have 26% of emissions and the ex-Warsaw Pact countries under 10%.
Naomi Klein needs to update with the modern realities. It is now not just a few rich countries that produce most of the emissions. Global inequalities in emissions have been shrinking by the poor countries catching up, in line with the more dramatic reductions in global income inequalities.
Naomi Kein will continue to fight the wars of the past century, against the imperialistic western capitalism. Good for her. Better that no one with decision making powers listens to her. No facts, just stupidities – she would be a perfect choice for the IPCC/UN.
Please don’t add to her grandiose ideas. 😉
And, just wonder why did the Klein and Gore types seized on this agenda? One has to wonder what side of the political circle they are on. Is “global warming” (notice purposeful lower case “g”) an “Alkinsky Crisis” they have seized upon? Exactly, what is really in that CoolAid they all seem to drink. NO to Hillary in 2016!
Obviously Naomi, as with other alarmists, believe that China is still a developing/immature/third-world country in need of special exemptions when it comes to compliance with predicted carbon emission reductions.
Cuz, like, you know, they don’t count.
“We have an economic system that defines success and progress as infinite economic expansion.”
This is almost correct; but it’s no selfishly narrow definition spawned by some evil blindness. Seen truly, it expresses the generosity of a society aimed at the support and advancement of every participant. When it is shaped well and without bias, our society generates more than enough wealth to support those who cannot participate.
It’s only wrong to call its expansion infinite—though it’s certainly automatic, as each new mouth arriving by birth or immigration brings its own pair of wealth-producing hands.
Seen thus in its natural spirit of cheerful, productive participation, there is no need to apologise for our society’s existence—even as there remain serious distortions still to eliminate.
She’s a pretentious up-her-own-arse metropolitan mare. Ignore.
She travels extensively speaking to audiences about climate change. She is skilled at this and comes across very well. It would be extremely foolish to ignore her. Better to destroy her credibility with facts reasonably expressed.
Tbf you’re quite right Richard. A global criss-crossing high-flying hypocrite of the worst kind who places her own ‘moral superiority’ above all others. It’s for the cause, don’t ya know?
Yet amongst this climate hysteria-fest I’m still waiting to see some unequivocal man made ‘climate change’ that is anything approaching unusual, never mind ‘catastrophic’. It’s all quite surreal.
The excellent points raised in the article and the responses of Richard Treadgold and manicbeancounter could make an article for Christopher Booker on their own. However, the zealots and politicians do not read these; I think that we need a “Mandelson” or some other spin-doctor to get involved to raise the issues into broad discussion.
Among her many mistakes is to claim that we live under capitalism. We live in what used to be called a “mixed” economy, and the mix keeps modifying in the direction of ever more state control. To be accurate, we live under fascism, aka mercantilism, aka corporatism. Our problems are the result of central planning. To fools like Klein, the more trouble we get into, the more central planning we need. And that is her real goal. She’s just another leftie itching to tell everyone how to live.
Classic champagne communist, “do as I say not as I do” notice she is well dressed, lives and prospers by the capitalist system, their heads are that far up their own rear ends they seem incapable of seeing what they are really advocating! Funny how with their public persona’s the are riddled with hate, jealousy and spite but in private live and love capitalism, the worst hypocrisy imaginable!!