The United States' decision not to attend the recent UN climate conference in Brazil was met with criticism, but a closer look at the facts reveals that it may have been the right move. The US didn't gain much from attending the conference, as China's carbon emissions were already significantly higher than those of the US and Europe combined.
In fact, according to a report by the Economist magazine, China's CO2 emissions in 2023 exceeded those of the entire US and European Union by a wide margin. This suggests that any progress made by China on reducing its greenhouse gas emissions may not be as significant as touted by some. Moreover, it appears that much of China's carbon reduction efforts are being offset by continued construction of new coal-powered plants.
The US has actually been leading the way in reducing CO2 emissions over the past decade, primarily through the increased use of natural gas instead of coal. So, why attend a conference where progress is already being made elsewhere? The answer may lie in the fact that many countries are more interested in scoring political points than making meaningful progress on climate change.
The US delegation's absence from the conference allowed for a more focused discussion on real issues, rather than getting bogged down in partisan politics. It also sends a clear message that the US is not going to be bullied or lectured by other nations on this issue. While it may have been a missed opportunity to make new agreements, the decision not to attend the conference was likely the right one for the country's interests.
The absence of the US from the conference was also seen in another letter to the editor, which highlighted the fact that most Americans receive their health care insurance through Medicare or Medicaid, rather than the Affordable Care Act exchanges. This made the government shutdown over healthcare issues seem less pressing than it might have otherwise.
Furthermore, a third letter to the editor suggested that fixing Proposition 13, rather than raising sales taxes, could be a more effective way to generate revenue for California's cities and counties. While the issue of taxation is complex, reforming Proposition 13 could help ensure that corporations are paying their fair share of property taxes, which would stabilize revenue streams in the state.
Finally, an Oakland resident suggested that the city should enact a progressive parcel tax, rather than a regressive one, which would be more equitable and fair for homeowners. By adopting such a system, cities like Oakland can avoid the pitfalls of regressive taxation and create a more sustainable funding model for public services.
In fact, according to a report by the Economist magazine, China's CO2 emissions in 2023 exceeded those of the entire US and European Union by a wide margin. This suggests that any progress made by China on reducing its greenhouse gas emissions may not be as significant as touted by some. Moreover, it appears that much of China's carbon reduction efforts are being offset by continued construction of new coal-powered plants.
The US has actually been leading the way in reducing CO2 emissions over the past decade, primarily through the increased use of natural gas instead of coal. So, why attend a conference where progress is already being made elsewhere? The answer may lie in the fact that many countries are more interested in scoring political points than making meaningful progress on climate change.
The US delegation's absence from the conference allowed for a more focused discussion on real issues, rather than getting bogged down in partisan politics. It also sends a clear message that the US is not going to be bullied or lectured by other nations on this issue. While it may have been a missed opportunity to make new agreements, the decision not to attend the conference was likely the right one for the country's interests.
The absence of the US from the conference was also seen in another letter to the editor, which highlighted the fact that most Americans receive their health care insurance through Medicare or Medicaid, rather than the Affordable Care Act exchanges. This made the government shutdown over healthcare issues seem less pressing than it might have otherwise.
Furthermore, a third letter to the editor suggested that fixing Proposition 13, rather than raising sales taxes, could be a more effective way to generate revenue for California's cities and counties. While the issue of taxation is complex, reforming Proposition 13 could help ensure that corporations are paying their fair share of property taxes, which would stabilize revenue streams in the state.
Finally, an Oakland resident suggested that the city should enact a progressive parcel tax, rather than a regressive one, which would be more equitable and fair for homeowners. By adopting such a system, cities like Oakland can avoid the pitfalls of regressive taxation and create a more sustainable funding model for public services.
. China's emissions are way higher than anyone else, so what exactly were we supposed to accomplish by attending? The fact is, the US has been doing some real work on reducing its CO2 emissions, and it seems like others aren’t following suit 
. And yeah, China's just building more coal plants, so don't get too excited about their "commitments" 
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. The delegation didn’t show up because those kinds of games were getting in the way, and honestly, I think we should take a step back from all that drama 
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. Those are important topics, but let's not get too sidetracked from the real issue at hand – climate change 
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. It might be a more equitable way to fund public services, and who knows, maybe that'll actually lead to some real progress 
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- Walt Disney 
... I mean, come on, China's emissions are way worse than ours and they're just ignoring their own problems 
The government shutdown was a total non-issue... and don't even get me started on Proposition 13, it's time to reform that thing so corporations pay their fair share 
it makes sense that the us didn't attend the climate conference tho cuz china isn't exactly setting a good example on reducing emissions lol but seriously can anyone explain what co2 emissions are exactly and why is it bad for the planet? i feel like i'm missing something here 
. China's carbon emissions are through the roof and it seems like they're just offsetting their reductions with new coal plants... what's the point of even trying? 
We should focus on our own efforts to reduce CO2 emissions, not get lectured by other countries. The US has been leading the way in reducing emissions over the past decade - why give that away at a conference? 
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like, the report from economist magazine is pretty wild - china's CO2 emissions in 2023 were already more than the entire us and european union lol so i can see why they'd wanna skip it 
. But hey, at least we can learn from their mistakes and try something better next time 
. I mean, let's be real, China's been putting out some major emissions lately 
. Like, way more than the whole EU and US combined! 
It's like they're not even trying to keep up with the rest of us on reducing CO2.
China's basically offsetting their own carbon reduction efforts by building new coal plants 
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. I mean, most Americans rely on Medicare or Medicaid, what even is the Affordable Care Act exchanges for, right? 
. I mean, it'd be way more fair and sustainable for public services to be funded 
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. I mean, who needs the Affordable Care Act when most Americans are already getting their health insurance through Medicare or Medicaid? 
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what's going on about China's carbon emissions anyway? I mean I knew they were big but not that big 
. And let's not forget, the whole thing might've been about China trying to one-up us on the climate change front... we can't have that 
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