Net-zero ‘an inherently ridiculous concept’ that ‘needs China and the developing world’

The Australian's Greg Sheridan says net-zero itself is "an inherently ridiculous concept" and to get any meaningful reductions "you need China and the developing world". "It means for every tonne of carbon you burn, you have to take a tonne out of the atmosphere - well no one can do that; you can plant trees but then you run out of agricultural land," he said. "There is this provincial idea among G7 leaders and especially among the Australian commentariat that the world consists of New York, Los Angeles, Paris, and London. "Between 2005 and 2018 China's emissions group by more than 70 per cent. There is no sign at all of China getting out of coal; not only that, one-quarter of all coal-fired power stations planned anywhere in the world are financed directly by China. "It's not only China, but India's emissions have also grown in that period by 70 per cent, Indonesia's have grown by 40 per cent. China alone produces more emissions than the whole of the G7 combined." Mr Sheridan said the developing world was "simply not interested in imposing a penalty on its development" in order to meet climate targets.