There are also issues of how to account for the same set of carbon emissions.
Suppose a Chinese factory uses electricity supplied by coal to manufacture a product. The product is shipped to the United States aboard a Korean container ship before being shipped by diesel train to Seattle, where it is delivered to a retailer by truck, purchased, plugged into the wall and powered by a combination of hydroelectric and natural gas energy. In this scenario, many of the carbon emissions can be counted as Korean or Chinese even though the end consumer is American.
The flip side of this is that the United States can also directly affect Chinese carbon emissions by simply buying fewer Chinese products.
Edit: Also, since China is a totalitarian dictatorship, it’s not like Chinese people can pressure their government very much.
Suppose a Chinese factory uses electricity supplied by coal to manufacture a product. The product is shipped to the United States aboard a Korean container ship before being shipped by diesel train to Seattle, where it is delivered to a retailer by truck, purchased, plugged into the wall and powered by a combination of hydroelectric and natural gas energy. In this scenario, many of the carbon emissions can be counted as Korean or Chinese even though the end consumer is American.
The flip side of this is that the United States can also directly affect Chinese carbon emissions by simply buying fewer Chinese products.
Edit: Also, since China is a totalitarian dictatorship, it’s not like Chinese people can pressure their government very much.