Pollution outsourcing and the āwhat about India and Chinaā argument
Note: Iām aware Iāve mentioned this topic before, I just havenāt done it in depth.
If youāve ever argued with conservative or liberals about climate change, or listened to politicians in the imperial core, youāve probably heard the āWhy is there so much focus on us when India and China are to blame for pollution? Weāre doing so much betterā argument.
Looking aside from the fact that the US is actually above India and near China despite having a significantly smaller population than both countries...
There is something not often discussed here, and that is pollution outsourcing, particularly pollution outsourcing to various Asian countries. Pollution outsourcing, or C02 emissions outsourcing in this case, is exactly what it implies: Outsourcing pollution to other countries like outsourcing jobs. This pollution comes in the form of air pollution, water pollution, and waste pollution on the ground. It makes breathing unsafe, it makes water unsafe, and it makes food unsafe.
Now that Iāve defined pollution outsourcing, letās get into the evidence and situation todayānot just involving the US, either.
Decreased C02 emissions at home, increased C02 emissions overseas
As stated in an article on outsourced pollution,
āOver the past decade, both the United States and Europe have made major strides in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions at home. That trend is often held up as a sign of progress in the fight against climate change.
But those efforts look a lot less impressive once you take trade into account. Many wealthy countries have effectively āoutsourcedā a big chunk of their carbon pollution overseas, by importing more steel, cement and other goods from factories in China and other places, rather than producing it domestically.
Britain, for instance, slashed domestic emissions within its own borders by one-third between 1990 and 2015. But it has done so as energy-intensive industries have migrated abroad. If you included all the global emissions produced in the course of making things like the imported steel used in Londonās skyscrapers and cars, then Britainās total carbon footprint has actually increased slightly over that time.ā
A study by Ken Caldeira, along with Steven Davis, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, found that more than a third of the carbon dioxide emissions linked to goods and services in the US and many European countries occurred elsewhere by exporting production needs to developing countries.
A more recent study found that in 2015 nearly 20% of Indiaās emissions were linked to production of goods for exports, primarily to the US, and also concluded that āthese hidden flows evade most types of carbon policy.ā
Itās not only CO2 that is being outsourced causing pollution, waste is too.
In recent decades, China has been the worldās largest importer of waste, accepting some 279 million metric tonnes of Americaās scrap alone over a quarter of a century, including paper and plastic for recycling, as well as mountains from Japan, countries in the European Union and from the developing world. China has, at its peak, imported almost 9 million tonnes of plastic trash annually. That waste is soon to be rejected by China, too, which may force pollution outsourcing countries to face the reality of their practices. Unfortunately, China is not the only option, and there are plans to send more waste to other Asian countries, such as Indonesia, India, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
Climate policy falls short
Efforts to curb climate change, such as the Paris Climate Agreement, do not take this outsourcing into account when holding countries responsible for their emissions. Ironically, there are countries who back the agreement that are largely responsible for outsourcing CO2, and donāt plan to stop itāin fact, once more environmental regulation is introduced, this outsourcing may increase.
Itās clear that the policies and mainstream narrative surrounding tackling climate change and pollution are wrong. Until the reality of this situation is acknowledged, emissions wonāt decrease, theyāll just move around. Such is the profit motive under capitalism. Donāt want your company to spend money and time decreasing emissions? Just go hide it somewhere and receive praise at home.
