A ‘prisoner’s dilemma’ at the Glasgow climate summit

Recriminations, accusations and posturing paint a grim picture at COP26. But bitter bickering often precedes meaningful compromises and deals at the last minute

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Activists symbolically set George Square on fire with an art installation of faux flames and smoke ahead of the COP26, in Glasgow, Scotland, on October 28. Photo: Reuters

Alex Lo

Alex Lo has been an SCMP columnist since 2012, covering major issues affecting Hong Kong and the rest of China.

Published: 9:00pm, 11 Nov 2021

If nothing else, the COP26 climate conference has proved to be highly educational, not only about complex climate science but also international politics and domestic economics as well. Over almost two weeks in Glasgow, nations big and small, rich and poor, have been blaming each other for the looming disaster. By and large, they are right.

A look at the mutual recriminations and accusations gives you a good idea about what’s at stake and why it’s so difficult to agree on anything, and stick to the commitments, when it comes to climate change.

For years, China has been singled out as the world’s worst emitter of CO2. That’s true. Besides criticising the no-show of President Xi Jinping by his US counterpart Joe Biden, the American team has been tireless at stressing that without China’s commitment to decarbonise, any global effort would not work. But is China not committed?

In a surprise joint statement on Wednesday, China and the United States agreed to work together to cut emissions and slow global warming. The bilateral deal marks a rare instance of cooperation between the two rival superpowers and the world’s worst greenhouse gas emitters.

From the late 2000s, China has been emitting more CO2 than the US. Now, its annual emission is twice that of the US. But that’s a bit like accusing China of having too many people. The global average of CO2 emissions per capita (or per person in the world) is 4.79 tons. China’s is 7.38 tons while America’s is more than double, at 15.52 tons. On a per capita basis, most major industrialised nations, except France and Britain, have been emitting more than China.

A ‘prisoner’s dilemma’ at the Glasgow climate summit

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Recriminations, accusations and posturing paint a grim picture at COP26. But bitter bickering often precedes meaningful compromises and deals at the last minute

Recriminations, accusations and posturing paint a grim picture at COP26. But bitter bickering often precedes meaningful compromises and deals at the last minute