Should the United Nations take military action against China over climate change?

David Archibald's latest paper destroys the myth that CO2 is to blame for the warming we've seen since the end of the Little Ice Age in the mid 19th century. He puts the warming effect from anthropogenic CO2 at around 0.1C, which is the conclusion I came to some time back.

However, that's not the point of this post. I provide it as background because it includes the following graph:



The question that needs to be posed is this...

Given that Climate Change presents an existential threat to the earth's climate system, that there's a consensus of scientific opinion that the consequences will be dire and that the cost of not taking urgent action are significant then should the United Nations take military action against China in order to save the world given the huge increase in CO2 output projected for them?

Naturally, it's a deliberately provocative question but why shouldn't it be asked?

If the projection in the above graph is correct and 'the science is settled' then the world is doomed.

In order to preserve world peace - the UN's primary objective - it must be incumbent on it to gather together those nations whose governments are keen to take action against anthropogenic global warming and stop China, militarily if necessary. That would be a pretty amusing spectacle, really; blue helmeted UN soldiers doing what they normally do - running away from a fight - while the UN's European half-brother, the EU, expends more time fighting with itself than tackling China.

If China - and India for that matter - will not reduce carbon emissions then why shouldn't they be subject to strong international action?

The situation really does show the apparently contradictory positions that the United Nations manages to navigate with no sense of cognitive dissonance.

In Australia the recent release of the Garnaut Report suggests that if Australia slashes its economic wrists by working towards a 90% reduction in CO2 by 2050 then it will be seen as a great world leader, a visionary country and an inspiration for recalcitrants such as China to follow.

I didn't notice China follow Australia's lead with the whole democracy thing, or take much notice of any of our world leading occupational health and safety standards, or take our side on ending North Korea's concentration camp status, or even reform their economy by floating their currency.

You do have to give them credit for taking our lead on one important thing, though. They have hired a bunch of Aussies who worked on the Sydney Olympics to help make their upcoming version of the games a propaganda triumph.

The reason that people would think that another country would follow Australia's lead - on moral grounds - has always eluded me.

(Nothing Follows)