How John Prescott Defended China–Copenhagen 2009 Flashback

By Paul Homewood

We’re now at the 9th anniversary of the Copenhagen climate summit, so it is worth casting our minds back to some of the things being said then.

Below is the Guardian’s report on John Prescott’s letter to them:

John Prescott has defended China’s role in the climate change summit, saying the blame for its flawed outcome must lie with the United States and Barack Obama.

The former deputy prime minister helped negotiate the Kyoto protocol in 1997, and was in Copenhagen acting as an informal bridge between the Chinese delegation and others.

As a frequent visitor to China, who knows many of its officials personally, Prescott fears privately that the Chinese will walk away from the talks if they continue to be singled out for blame.

In a letter to the Guardian, Prescott criticises the US climate change special envoy, Todd Stern, who "said at Copenhagen emissions weren’t about ‘morality or politics’, they were ‘just maths’, with China projected to emit 60% more CO₂ than the US by 2030".

In his letter Prescott claims that Stern’s arguments "ignored the more transparent measure of pollution per capita, which shows the US emits 20 tonnes per person every year, compared to China’s six tonnes, whilst America’s GDP per person is almost eight times greater than the Chinese". He also attacks President Barack Obama for suggesting there had been a period of "two decades of talking and no action. That might have been true in America, which refused to sign up to Kyoto, but not in the case of China or Europe, who followed a lot of that protocol’s policies. Indeed Obama’s offer of a 17% cut is wholly dependent on Congressional approval and will still be less than Kyoto targets." Prescott is climate change convenor for the Council of Europe, with the role of exploring how to keep the talks on the road.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/dec/28/john-prescott-defends-china-copenhagen

Brits will be fully aware of the buffoon Prescott. It is truly scary that he accumulated so much power around himself during Tony Blair’s administration.

And he certainly did not embellish his credentials with this letter.

Let’s take apart what he said:

1) Prescott criticises the US climate change special envoy, Todd Stern, who "said at Copenhagen emissions weren’t about ‘morality or politics’, they were ‘just maths’, with China projected to emit 60% more CO₂ than the US by 2030".

Well, unfortunately, when you are trying to save the planet, maths is actually quite important, John!

According to BP, CO2 emissions in China last year were 9232 Mt, compared to 5087 Mt in the US. In other words, Chinese emissions are already 81% higher than the US, making Todd Stern’s estimate a gross understatement. By 2030, the gap will inevitably have widened even further.

Like it or not, this is a major problem.

2) Prescott claims that Stern’s arguments "ignored the more transparent measure of pollution per capita, which shows the US emits 20 tonnes per person every year, compared to China’s six tonnes

Nobody would disagree that, if you are going to cut global emissions, high per capita emitters like the US should bear the brunt.

However, the latest figures from CDIAC now show that per capita emissions in China are higher than in the UK.

https://cdiac.ess-dive.lbl.gov/trends/emis/meth_reg.html

Does Mr Prescott now believe that the UK should be cutting emissions, when China is not? Is that “fair”?

3) He also attacks President Barack Obama for suggesting there had been a period of "two decades of talking and no action. That might have been true in America, which refused to sign up to Kyoto, but not in the case of China or Europe, who followed a lot of that protocol’s policies.

While China was busy “following protocols”, its emissions were skyrocketing. I cannot think of a better description of “talking and no action”!