By Dr Gideon Polya
An exceptionalist Trump America has withdrawn from the Paris Climate Change Agreement and thereby launched a neoliberal War on the Planet (Terra). The US has 4.4% of the world’s population but contributes more to annual global greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution than China (18.6% of world population). The Paris Agreement’s upper limit of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise is already unattainable but climate change denialist Trump’s decision will make the future even worse for future generations.
The American Declaration of Independence in 1776 proclaimed “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” [1] but for over 240 years exceptionalist American actions have rejected the self-evident truth that “all men are created equal”. Slavery of African Americans continued for 90 years after 1776 to be replaced after the American Civil Wars by the discrimination and segregation as exampled by the Jim Crow Laws in the Deep South and industrial exploitation in the North. Civil rights activism finally made progress on desegregation and voter registration in the 1960s but in the 21st century African Americans are disproportionately impacted by poverty, differential wealth, exclusion from voting and wealth-based Educational Apartheid with a massive return of de facto segregation [2].
Racism is as American as apple pie and the ultimate in racism is the invasion of other countries. America has invaded 72 countries [3-5], has military personnel in 156 countries [6], has military bases in 75 countries [6, 7], and through corporations or government agencies actively subverts every country [8-10]. Post-1950 US Asian wars have so far been associated with 40 million Asian deaths from violence or war-imposed deprivation [11]. An ultra-violent America is presently directly making war in 8 countries (Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Philippines). The US War on Muslims (aka the US War on Terror) has so far been associated with 32 million deaths from violence (5 million) or from deprivation (27 million) in 20 countries invaded by the US Alliance since the US Government’s 9-11 false flag atrocity [12, 13].
American exceptionalism is most seriously exhibited in relation to the 3 key existential threats facing Humanity, namely nuclear weapons, poverty and climate change. A nuclear war would wipe out most of Humanity and the Biosphere through the initial blasts, subsequent radioactive pollution and a lengthy, global nuclear winter. America has about 8,000 nuclear weapons, is complicit in the spread of nuclear weapons, opposes nuclear disarmament [14] and under Trump is raising the spectre of an apocalyptic first strike against China and Russia [15]. Poverty kills and 17 million people die annually from deprivation on Spaceship Earth with America in charge of the flight deck [11]. America makes a disproportionately high (20%) contribution to annual greenhouse gas pollution [16, 17] and a worsening climate genocide will mean 10 billion deaths from climate change this century if greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution is not requisitely stopped and reversed [18].
Despite American neoliberalism and exceptionalism representing an acute threat to Humanity and the Biosphere, lying by commission and omission by One Percenter-dominated Mainstream media ensures that the masses are treated like mushrooms – kept in the dark and fed manure. Indeed the presently much-vaunted American democracy involving one-person-one-vote and an informed electorate was flawed from the get-go in 1776 – African American slaves and women did not have the vote and the wealthy had a disproportionate influence. In the 21st century American Democracy has become a Kleptocracy, Plutocracy, Lobbyocracy, Corporatocracy and Dollarocracy in which Big Money purchases people, parties, policies, public perception of reality, votes and hence more political power and more personal profit. American and Western democracies are perverted by Mainstream media fake news through lying by omission [19-22].
No better example of corporate perversion of public perception is the horrible reality that America has elected a climate change denying president in ignorant, scientifically illiterate, anti-science billionaire Donald Trump despite a 97% scientific consensus that climate change is real, man-made and a serious threat to Humanity. Now idiot Trump has withdrawn America from the Paris Climate Change Agreement that committed the world to keeping global warming to less that a catastrophic plus 2C and ideally to less than plus 1.5C [23]. Unfortunately plus 1.5C will be exceeded in 4-10 years and a catastrophic plus 2C is now unavoidable [14, 24-26].
Decent people cannot give up and must do everything they can to make the future “less bad” for future generations e.g. by promising judicial punishment for criminals [27], urging a (peaceful) Climate Revolution [28], and demanding that the environmental and human cost of pollution be fully borne by the polluters by application of a Carbon Price to pollution [29, 30], as indeed demanded by science-trained, Green-Left Pope Francis [31, 32]. Dangerously ignorant, stupid and exceptionalist Trump thinks otherwise and has ordered that America will exit the Paris Agreement and head for a future that will be “far worse” rather than “less bad” for future generations.
Estimating the significance of Trump American withdrawal from the Paris Agreement requires proper quantitative estimate of greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by all countries. A revised estimate of “annual per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution” has been made for all countries in units of “tonnes CO2-equivalent per person per year”, taking methanogenic animal husbandry and land use into account [16, 17], and considering the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of the greenhouse gas methane (CH4, the major component in natural gas) on a relevant 20 year time frame [33]. Such an analysis by World Bank experts revised annual global GHG pollution upwards from 41.8 Gt CO2-equivalent (41.8 billion tonnes CO2-equivalent) to 63.8 Gt CO2-equivalent. The term CO2-equivalent takes all greenhouse gases (except for water, H2O) into account, notably carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and the nitrogen oxides (NO2 and N2O), and expresses the total in terms of CO2 equivalents. Methane (CH4) (about 85% of natural gas) is 105 times worse than CO2 as a greenhouse gas (GHG) on a 20 year time frame and taking aerosol impacts into account. Methane leaks (3.3% in the US based on the latest US EPA data and as high as 7.9% for methane from “fracking” coal seams) and a 2.6 % leakage of CH4 yields the same greenhouse effect as burning the remaining 97.4% CH4) [34].
The annual GHG pollution of a country is a “Carbon Debt” that can be expressed in Gt CO2-equivalent. However Dr Chris Hope from 90-Nobel-Laureate Cambridge University (UK) has estimated a damage-related cost of GHG pollution at US$200 per tonne CO2-equivalent) [30], and hence the annual per capita Carbon Debt for any country of x tonnes CO2-requivalent per person per year can be expressed in US dollars i.e. x tonnes CO2-equivalent per person per year x $200 per tonne CO2-equivalent = $200x per person per year. Whereas ordinary financial debt can be expunged by default, bankruptcy or printing money, Carbon Debt is inescapable e.g. future generations will have to build sea walls or cities will drown [29].
Below is a summary for all countries of (a) annual per GHG pollution (tonnes CO2-equivalent per person per year); (b) Carbon Debt per person per year in US$; (c) total 2016 population in millions (M) [35]; and (d) total annual GHG pollution (Gt CO2-equivalent):
(A) countries with about 4 to 41 times the world average annual per capita GHG pollution (8.9 tonnes CO2-equivalent per person per year):
Belize (366.9; $73,380; 0.366M; 0.134 Gt), Guyana (203.1; $40,620; 0.771M; 0.157 Gt), Malaysia (126.0; $25,200; 30.8M; 3.881 Gt), Papua New Guinea (114.7; $22,940; 7.78M; 0.892 Gt), Qatar (101.8; $20,360; 2.29M; 0.233 Gt), Zambia (97.5; $19,500; 16.7M; 1.628 Gt), Antigua & Barbuda (85.6; $17,120; 0.093M; 0.008 Gt), United Arab Emirates (82.4; $16,480; 9.12M; 0.751), Panama (68.0; $13,600; 3.99M; 0.271 Gt), Botswana (64.9; $13,629; 2.30M; 0.149 Gt), Liberia (55.0; $11,000; 4.62M; 0.254 Gt), Indonesia (53.6; $10,720; 260.6M; 13.968 Gt), New Zealand (53.2; $10,640; 4.57M; 0.243 Gt), Australia (52.9; $10,580; 24.0M; 1.270 Gt – 116; $23,200; 24.0M; 2.784 Gt if including its huge GHG-generating exports), Nicaragua (51.2; $10,240; 6.15M; 0.315 Gt), Canada (50.1; $10,020; 36.3M; 1.819 Gt), Equatorial Guinea (47.5; $9,500; 0.870M; 0.041 Gt), Venezuela (45.2; $9,040; 31.5M; 1.424 Gt), Brazil (43.4; $8,680; 209.6M; 9.097 Gt), Myanmar (41.9; $8,380; 54.4M; 2.279 Gt), Ireland (41.4; $8,280; 4.71M; 0.195 Gt), United States (41.0; $8,200; 324.1M; 13.288 Gt), Cambodia (40.5; $8,100; 15.8M; 0.640 Gt), Kuwait (37.3; $7,460; 4.01M; 0.250 Gt), Paraguay (37.2; $7,440; 6.73M; 0.250 Gt), Central African Republic (35.7; $7,140; 5.00M; 0.179 Gt).
(B) countries with about 2 and 4 times the world average annual per capita GHG pollution:
Peru (34.8; $6,960; 31.8M; 1.107 Gt), Mongolia (32.2; $6,440; 3.01M; 0.097 Gt), Singapore (31.2; $6,240; 5.70M; 0.178 Gt), Bahrain (30.5; $6,100; 1.40M; 0.043 Gt), Trinidad & Tobago (29.8; $5,960; 1.36M; 0.041), Cameroon (29.5; $5,900; 23.9M; 0.705 Gt), Congo, Democratic Republic (formerly Zaire) (29.3; $5,860; 77.3M; 2.265 Gt), Côte d’Ivoire (29.1; $5,820; 23.3M; 0.678 Gt), Denmark (27.8; $5,560; 5.69M; 0.158 Gt), Brunei (27.4; $5,480; 0.429M; 0.012 Gt), Bolivia (27.3; $5,460; 10.9M; 0.298 Gt), Guatemala (26.9; $5,380; 16.7M; 0.449 Gt), Belgium (26.3; $5,260; 11.4M; 0.300 Gt), Ecuador (26.2; $5,240; 16.4M; 0.430 Gt), Estonia (25.4; $5,080; 1.31M; 0.033 Gt), Laos (25.3; $5,060; 6.92M; 0.175 Gt), Suriname (25.1; $5,020; 0.548M; 0.014 Gt), Netherlands (24.9; $4,980; 17.0M; 0.423 Gt), Libya (24.9; $4,980; 6.33M; 0.158 Gt), Nepal (24.6; $4,920; 28.9M; 0.711 Gt), Benin (24.5; $4,900; 11.2M; 0.274 Gt), Angola (23.8; $4,760; 25.8M; 0.614 Gt), Madagascar (23.7; $4,740; 24.9M; 0.590 Gt), Argentina (23.7; $4,740; 43.8M; 1.038 Gt), Uruguay (23.7; $4,740; 3.44M; 0.082 Gt)*, Luxembourg (23.6; $4,720; 0.576M; 0.014 Gt), Turkmenistan (23.5; $4,700; 5.44M; 0.128 Gt), Czech Republic (23.5; $4,700; 10.5M; 0.247 Gt), Zimbabwe (23.3; $4,660; 16.0M; 0.373 Gt), Gabon (23.1; $4,620; 1.76M; 0.041 Gt), Greece (21.9; $4,380; 10.9M; 0.239 Gt), United Kingdom (21.5; $4,300; 65.1M; 1.400 Gt), Cyprus (21.4; $4,280; 1.18M; 0.025 Gt), Congo, Republic (21.0; $4,200; 4.74M; 0.100 Gt), Spain (20.9; $4,180; 46.1M; 0.963 Gt), Finland (20.6; $4,120; 5.52M; 0.144), Israel (20.2; $4,040; 8.19M; 0.165 Gt), Norway (20.1; $4,020; 5.27M; 0.106 Gt), Colombia (19.8; $3,960; 48.7M; 0.964 Gt), Namibia (19.8; $3,960; 2.51M; 0.050 Gt), Mauritania (19.7; $3,940; 4.17M; 0.082 Gt), South Africa (19.4; $3,880; 55.0M; 1.067 Gt), Ukraine (19.1; $3,820; 44.6M; 0.852 Gt), Germany (18.6; $3,720; 80.7M; 1.501 Gt).
(C) countries with about 1 and 2 times the world average annual per capita GHG pollution:
France (17.7; $3,540; 64.7M; 1.145 Gt), Italy (17.6; $3,520; 59.8M; 1.052 Gt), Uzbekistan (17.5; $3,500; 30.3M; 0.530 Gt), Costa Rica (17.1; $3,420; 4.86M; 0.083 Gt), South Sudan (16.8; $3,360; 12.7M; 0.213 Gt)*, Sudan (16.8; $3,360; 41.2M; 0.692 Gt), Saudi Arabia (16.6; $3,320; 32.2M; 0.535 Gt), Slovenia (16.5; $3,300; 2.07M; 0.034 Gt), Azerbaijan (16.4; $3,280; 9.9M; 0.162 Gt), Russia (16.2; $3,240; 143.4M; 2.323 Gt), Sierra Leone (16.2; $3,240; 6.59M; 0.107 Gt), Slovakia (15.9; $3,180; 5.43M; 0.086 Gt), Honduras (15.8; $3,160; 8.19M; 0.129 Gt), Hungary (15.5; $3,100; 9.82M; 0.152 Gt), Kazakhstan (15.4; $3,080; 17.9M; 0.276 Gt), Portugal (15.0; $3,000; 10.3M; 0.155 Gt), Sweden (15.0; $3,000; 9.85M; 0.148 Gt), Iran (14.5; $2,900; 80.0M; 1.160 Gt), Iceland (14.2; $2,840; 0.332M; 0.005 Gt), Mexico (13.9; $2,780; 128.6M; 1.788 Gt), Oman (13.8; $2,760; 4.65M; 0.065 Gt), Malta (13.3; $2,660; 0.420M; 0.006 Gt), Austria (13.0; $2,600; 8.57M; 0.111 Gt), Poland (12.9; $2,580; 38.6M; 0.498 Gt), Jamaica (12.8; $2,560; 2.80M; 0.036 Gt), Palau (12.8; $2,560; 0.0215M; 0.00028), South Korea (12.7; $2,540; 50.5M; 0.641 Gt), Guinea (12.5; $2,500; 12.9M; 0.161 Gt), North Korea (12.1; $2,420; 25.3M; 0.306 Gt), Bahamas (12.1; $2,420; 0.393M; 0.005 Gt), Nigeria (11.7; $2,340; 187.0M; 2.188 Gt), Nauru (11.7; $2,340; 0.0103M; 0.00012 Gt), Malawi (11.7; $2,340; 17.7M; 0.207 Gt), Mali (11.6; $2,320; 18.1M; 0.210 Gt), Chad (11.6; $2,320; 14.5M; 0.168 Gt), Taiwan (11.6; $2,320; 23.4M; 0.271 Gt), Latvia (11.4; $2,280; 1.96M; 0.022 Gt), Vanuatu (11.1; $2,220; 0.270M; 0.003 Gt), Switzerland (11.0; $2,200; 8.38M; 0.092 Gt), Romania (10.9; $2,180; 19.4M; 0.211 Gt), Togo (10.9; $2,180; 7.50M; 0.082 Gt), Japan (10.7; $2,140; 126.3M; 1.351 Gt), Serbia & Montenegro (10.4; $2.080; 8.81M; 0.092 Gt), Seychelles (10.2; $2,040; 0.0970M; 0.00099 Gt), Bulgaria (10.1; $2,020; 7.10M; 0.072 Gt), Lebanon (9.8; $1,960; 5.99M; 0.059 Gt), Syria (9.4; $1,880; 18.6M; 0.175 Gt), Tanzania (9.3; $1,860; 55.2M: 0.513 Gt), Turkey (9.2; $1,840; 79.6M; 0.732 Gt), Barbados (9.1; $1,820; 0.285M; 0.0026 Gt), Jordan (9.1; $1,820; 7.75M; 0.071 Gt), Occupied State of Palestine (9.1; $1,820; 4.80M; 0.044 Gt)*, Philippines (9.0; $1,800; 102.3M; 0.921 Gt), Guinea-Bissau (9.0; $1,800; 1.89M; 0.017 Gt).
(D) countries with annual per capita GHG pollution at or below world average (8.9 tonnes CO2-equivalent per person per year):
Ghana (8.9; $1,780; 28.0M; 0.249 Gt), Thailand (8.7; $1,740; 68.1M; 0.592 Gt), Chile (8.7; $1,740; 18.1M; 0.157 Gt), Fiji (8.7; $1,740; 0.897M; 0.0078 Gt), Belarus (8.6; $1,720; 9.48M; 0.082 Gt), Sri Lanka (8.5; $1,700; 20.8M; 0.177 Gt), Macedonia (8.5; $1,700; 2.08M; 0.018 Gt), Tonga (7.4; $1,480; 0.107M; 0.00079 Gt), Croatia (7.4; $1,480; 4.23M; 0.031 Gt), China (7.4; $1,480; 1,382.3M; 10.229 Gt), Burkina Faso (7.3; $1,460; 18.6M; 0.136 Gt), Bosnia & Herzegovina (7.2; $1,440; 3.80M; 0.027 Gt), Kenya (7.1; $1,420; 10.6M; 0.075 Gt), Dominican Republic (7.1; $1,420; 10.6M; 0.075 Gt), Senegal (7.0; $1,400; 15.6M; 0.109 Gt), Tunisia (7.0; $1,400; 11.4M; 0.080 Gt), Algeria (6.6; $1,320; 40.4M; 0.267 Gt), Grenada (6.4; $1,280; 0.107M; 0.00068 Gt), Samoa (6.2; $1,240; 0.195M; 0.0012 Gt), Rwanda (6.1; $1,220; 11.9M; 0.073 Gt), El Salvador (6.0; $1,200; 6.15M; 0.037 Gt), Lithuania (5.9; $1,180; 2.85M; 0,017 Gt), Mozambique (5.8; $1,160; 28.8M; 0.167 Gt), Lesotho (5.7; $1,140; 2.16M; 0.012 Gt), Burundi (5.5; $1,100; 11.6M; 0.064 Gt), Iraq (5.5; $1,100; 37.5M; 0.206 Gt), Eritrea (5.3; $1,060; 5.35M; 0.028 Gt), St Kitts & Nevis (5.1; $1,020; 0.0562), Uganda (5.1; $1,020; 40.3M; 0.206 Gt), Haiti (5.0; $1,000; 10.8M; 0.054 Gt), Mauritius (5.0; $1,000; 1.28M; 0.0064 Gt), Albania (4.3; $860; 2.90M; 0.012 Gt), Dominica (4.2; $840; 0.0730M; 0.00031 Gt), Bhutan (4.1; $820; 0.784M; 0.0032 Gt), Niger (4.1; $820; 20.7M; 0.085 Gt), Ethiopia (4.1; $820; 101.9M; 0.418), Moldova (4.0; $800; 4.06M; 0.016 Gt), Georgia (4.0; $800; 3.98M; 0.016 Gt), Yemen (3.7; $740; 27.5M; 0.102 Gt), Tajikistan (3.7; $740; 8.67M; 0.032 Gt), Afghanistan (3.6; $720; 33.4M; 0.120 Gt), Swaziland (3.6; $720; 1.30M; 0.0047 Gt), Cuba (3.5; $700; 11.4M; 0.039 Gt), Cape Verde (3.5; $700; 0.527M; 0.0018), Kyrgyzstan (3.4; $680; 6.03M; 0.021 Gt), The Gambia (3.0; $600; 2.05M; 0.0062 Gt), St Lucia (2.9; $580; 0.186M; 0.00054 Gt), Bangladesh (2.7; $540; 162.9M; 0.440 Gt), Egypt (2.6; $520; 93.4M; 0.243 Gt), Niue (2.6; $520; 0.00162M; 0.0000042 Gt), Pakistan (2.5; $500; 192.8M; 0.482), Morocco (2.5; $500; 34.8M; 0.087 Gt), Djibouti (2.4; $480; 0.900M; 0.0022 Gt), St Vincent & Grenadines (2.4; $480; 0.110M; 0.00026 Gt), Armenia (2.3; $460; 3.03M; 0.0070 Gt), Maldives (2.1; $420; 0.370M; 0.00078 Gt), India (2.1; $420; 1,326.8M; 2.786 Gt), Cook Islands (2.1; $420; 0.0209M; 0.000044 Gt), Vietnam (1.9; $380; 94.4M; 0.179 Gt), São Tomé and Príncipe (1.9; $380; 0.194M; 0.00037 Gt), Comoros (1.6; $320; 0.807M; 0.0013 Gt), Solomon Islands (1.4; $280; 0.595M; 0.00083 Gt), Kiribati (1.2; $240; 0.114M; 0.00014 Gt), Tuvalu (1.2; $240; 0.00994; 0.000012 Gt)* (* indicates an estimate based on that for an immediately contiguous, ethnically-related country).
In terms of international action to limit national GHG pollution we can arbitrarily decide to concentrate on 24 countries with annual GHG pollution greater than 1 Gt CO2-equivalent. Note that adding up, country-by-country, the total revised GHG pollution for these 24 “big polluter” countries yields 81 Gt CO2-equivalent, similar to but significantly bigger than the world total estimate of 64 Gt CO2-equivalent arrived at from global considerations by World Bank analysts [33], this discrepancy arising from the common assumptions made in the country-by-country analysis [16, 17]. In the astonishing absence of more authoritative data on country-by-country annual per capita GHG pollution taking livestock and land use into account, we can only use the present country-by-country data [16, 17] with some confidence in relative values arrived at through application of the same methodology to all countries.
Ranked below in descending order are 24 big polluter countries with annual GHG pollution greater than 1 Gt CO2-equivalent:
Indonesia (53.6; $10,720; 260.6M; 13.968 Gt), United States (41.0; $8,200; 324.1M; 13.288 Gt), China (7.4; $1,480; 1,382.3M; 10.229 Gt), Brazil (43.4; $8,680; 209.6M; 9.097 Gt), Malaysia (126.0; $25,200; 30.8M; 3.881 Gt), India (2.1; $420; 1,326.8M; 2.786 Gt), Russia (16.2; $3,240; 143.4M; 2.323 Gt), Myanmar (41.9; $8,380; 54.4M; 2.279 Gt), Congo, Democratic Republic (formerly Zaire) (29.3; $5,860; 77.3M; 2.265 Gt), Nigeria (11.7; $2,340; 187.0M; 2.188 Gt), Canada (50.1; $10,020; 36.3M; 1.819 Gt), Mexico (13.9; $2,780; 128.6M; 1.788 Gt), Zambia (97.5; $19,500; 16.7M; 1.628 Gt), Germany (18.6; $3,720; 80.7M; 1.501 Gt), Venezuela (45.2; $9,040; 31.5M; 1.424 Gt), United Kingdom (21.5; $4,300; 65.1M; 1.400 Gt), Japan (10.7; $2,140; 126.3M; 1.351 Gt), Australia (52.9; $10,580; 24.0M; 1.270 Gt – 116; $23,200; 24.0M; 2.784 Gt if including its huge GHG-generating exports), Iran (14.5; $2,900; 80.0M; 1.160 Gt), Peru (34.8; $6,960; 31.8M; 1.107 Gt), South Africa (19.4; $3,880; 55.0M; 1.067 Gt), Argentina (23.7; $4,740; 43.8M; 1.038 Gt), France (17.7; $3,540; 64.7M; 1.145 Gt), and Italy (17.6; $3,520; 59.8M; 1.052 Gt).
We accept that “all men are created equal” and accordingly in terms of moral culpability one must rank these 24 biggest polluting countries in descending order of annual per capita GHG pollution in 2 categories:
- Worst offender big polluters with annual per capita GHG pollution 2-14 times greater than the world average:
Malaysia (126.0; $25,200; 30.8M; 3.881 Gt), Zambia (97.5; $19,500; 16.7M; 1.628 Gt), Indonesia (53.6; $10,720; 260.6M; 13.968 Gt), Australia (52.9; $10,580; 24.0M; 1.270 Gt), Canada (50.1; $10,020; 36.3M; 1.819 Gt),Venezuela (45.2; $9,040; 31.5M; 1.424 Gt), Brazil (43.4; $8,680; 209.6M; 9.097 Gt), Myanmar (41.9; $8,380; 54.4M; 2.279 Gt), United States (41.0; $8,200; 324.1M; 13.288 Gt), Peru (34.8; $6,960; 31.8M; 1.107 Gt), Congo, Democratic Republic (formerly Zaire) (29.3; $5,860; 77.3M; 2.265 Gt), Argentina (23.7; $4,740; 43.8M; 1.038 Gt), United Kingdom (21.5; $4,300; 65.1M; 1.400 Gt), South Africa (19.4; $3,880; 55.0M; 1.067 Gt), Germany (18.6; $3,720; 80.7M; 1.501 Gt),
- Big polluters with annual per capita GHG pollution less than 2 times the world average:
France (17.7; $3,540; 64.7M; 1.145 Gt), Italy (17.6; $3,520; 59.8M; 1.052 Gt), Russia (16.2; $3,240; 143.4M; 2.323 Gt), Iran (14.5; $2,900; 80.0M; 1.160 Gt), Mexico (13.9; $2,780; 128.6M; 1.788 Gt), Nigeria (11.7; $2,340; 187.0M; 2.188 Gt), Japan (10.7; $2,140; 126.3M; 1.351 Gt), China (7.4; $1,480; 1,382.3M; 10.229 Gt), India (2.1; $420; 1,326.8M; 2.786 Gt).
While all countries must reduce their GHG pollution in order to make the future “less bad” for future generations, it is clear that the worst offenders are those in category A above i.e. big polluters with annual per capita GHG pollution 2-14 times greater than the world average of 8.9 tonnes CO2-equivalent per person per year as estimated from a global analysis [33]. Trump America falls in the middle of these “worst offender” big polluter nations and a reasonable concern is that the climate criminal, pro-coal, pro-gas, pro-fossil fuels, exceptionalist position espoused by Trump in exiting Paris may be adopted by other “worst offender” big polluter countries.
Indeed climate criminal Australia is in the “worst offender big polluter” category with an annual per capita GHG pollution that is 1.3 times bigger than that of the US. US lackey Australia has been careful in its response to the American exit from Paris with its right-wing, Liberal Party-National Party Coalition PM Turnbull stating “It was a very core campaign commitment of his. It is disappointing. We would prefer the United States to remain part of the agreement” and the US lackey Labor Opposition similarly carefully expressed disappointment [36]. However the responsible, pro-planet Australian Greens (who unfortunately only have 10% electoral support in Australia) were appalled: “Donald Trump’s decision to run from the Paris Climate Agreement is a betrayal of his office. We have seen this betrayal play out in Australia, as the government pays for fossil fuels from our clean energy fund, as they gut ARENA and as they consider billion-dollar loans to Adani for a massive coal mine. The Greens stand with the Australian community in our commitment to strong action against global warming. We will not turn our backs on our children’s generation. We won’t ignore the imminent threat to the [Great Barrier] reef, to our farmers and to those nations already under direct threat from rising sea levels. We won’t allow vested interests to wield power through political donations, to the detriment of those that come after us. The Liberals and Labor have shown none of the climate leadership Australians want. Together, we will hold them to account and together, we will win this” [36]. The climate criminal Australian Coalition Government and the climate criminal Labor Opposition are united in their support for unlimited coal, gas, and iron ore exports and unlimited meat exports from methanogenic livestock farming. Australia is the world’s leading coal exporter and will soon become the world’s biggest Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) exporter. Australia’s present annual per capita Domestic plus Exported GHG pollution is 116 tonnes CO2-equivalent per person per year, 2.8 times greater than the annual per capita GHG pollution of the US.
The Trump America withdrawal from the Paris Agreement may possibly encourage other disproportionately climate criminal countries to do likewise. However it is far more likely that other climate criminal countries will follow the example of climate criminal Australia by remaining a party to the Paris Climate Agreement and its woefully insufficient and non-binding demands while pretending to take action against GHG pollution and climate change [37].
Final comments.
In withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement, an exceptionalist Trump America is showing utter contempt for the Biosphere and the non-American 96% of Humanity. With a mere 4.4% of the world’s population, the US uses about 25% of exploited global resources each year. Dangerous, inhumane and ignorant American exceptionalism under Trump involves expanding America’s huge Carbon Debt by unlimited fossil fuel burning and other greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution, mindlessly expanding investment in grossly polluting highways, and endlessly polluting the one common atmosphere and ocean of all countries. Humanity must vigorously respond to Trump America’s disproportionate GHG pollution and President Trump’s ecocidal, speciescidal, terracidal, Australian-style policy of unlimited exploitation of fossil fuels [38]. Humanity must act against Trump America and other disproportionately climate criminal countries through Green Tariffs, International Court of Justice (ICJ) litigations, International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutions, and resolute and comprehensive Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS).
References.
[1]. The Declaration of Independence, 4 July 1776: http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/ .
[2]. Gideon Polya, “Truth & Boycotts, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) Can Overcome Huge Inequities Suffered By African Americans Under American Apartheid”, Countercurrents, 29 September 2014: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya290914.htm
[3]. “Stop state terrorism” : https://sites.google.com/site/stopstateterrorism/ .
[4]. “State crime and non-state terrorism”: https://sites.google.com/site/statecrimeandnonstateterrorism/ .
[5]. Gideon Polya, “The US Has Invaded 70 Nations Since 1776 – Make 4 July Independence From America Day”, Countercurrents, 5 July, 2013: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya050713.htm .
[6]. Jules Dufour, “The world-wide network of US military bases”, Global Research: http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-worldwide-network-of-us-military-bases/5564 .
[7]. “These are the countries where the US has a military presence”, Global Research, 12 April 2015: http://www.globalresearch.ca/these-are-all-the-countries-where-the-us-has-a-military-presence/5442345 .
[8]. William Blum, “Rogue State”.
[9]. Philip Agee, “Inside the Company: CIA Diary”.
[10]. John Perkins, “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man”.
[11]. Gideon Polya, “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950”, that includes a succinct history of every country and is now available for free perusal on the web: http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ .
[12]. Gideon Polya, “Paris Atrocity Context: 27 Million Muslim Avoidable Deaths From Imposed Deprivation In 20 Countries Violated By US Alliance Since 9-11”, Countercurrents, 22 November, 2015: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya221115.htm .
[13]. “Experts: US did 9-11”: https://sites.google.com/site/expertsusdid911/ .
[14]. “Nuclear weapons ban, end poverty & reverse climate change”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/nuclear-weapons-ban .
[15]. Paul Craig Roberts, “Washington plans to nuke Russia and China:”, Paul Crag Roberts, 27 April 2017: http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2017/04/27/washington-plans-nuke-russia-china/ .
[16]. Gideon Polya, “Revised Annual Per Capita Greenhouse Gas Pollution For All Countries – What Is Your Country Doing?”, Countercurrents, 6 January, 2016: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya060116.htm .
[17]. Gideon Polya, “Exposing And Thence Punishing Worst Polluter Nations Via Weighted Annual Per Capita Greenhouse Gas Pollution Scores”, Countercurrents, 19 March, 2016: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya190316.htm .
[18]. “Climate Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/climategenocide/ .
[19]. Gideon Polya, “Mainstream media fake news through lying omission”, Global Research, 2 April 2017: http://www.globalresearch.ca/mainstream-media-fake-news-through-lying-by-omission/5582944 .
[20]. Gideon Polya, “Australian ABC And UK BBC Fake News Through Lying By Omission”, Countercurrents, 2 May 2017: http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/05/02/australian-abc-and-uk-bbc-fake-news-through-lying-by-omission/ .
[21]. “Mainstream media censorship”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/home .
[22]. “Mainstream media lying”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammedialying/ .
[23]. “Paris Agreement”, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Agreement .
[24]. “Are we doomed?”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/are-we-doomed .
[25]. “Methane Bomb Threat”: https://sites.google.com/site/methanebombthreat/ .
[26]. “Too late to avoid global warming catastrophe”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/too-late-to-avoid-global-warming .
[27]. Gideon Polya, “Humanity Must Pledge Inescapable Dispossession And Custodial Retribution For Climate Criminals”, Countercurrents, 20 December 2016: http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/12/20/humanity-must-pledge-inescapable-dispossession-and-custodial-retribution-for-climate-criminals/ .
[28]. “Climate Revolution Now”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/climate-revolution .
[29]. “Carbon Debt Carbon Credit”: https://sites.google.com/site/carbondebtcarboncredit/ .
[30]. Chris Hope, “How high should climate change taxes be?”, Working Paper Series, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, 9.2011: http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/fileadmin/user_upload/research/workingpapers/wp1109.pdf .
[31]. Gideon Polya, “Western Mainstream Media Censor Green Left Pope Francis’ “Laudato Si’” Message For Urgent Action On Climate Change”, Countercurrents, 20 August, 2015: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya200815.htm .
[32]. Pope Francis , Encyclical Letter “Laudato si”, 2015: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html .
[33]. Robert Goodland and Jeff Anfang. “Livestock and climate change. What if the key actors in climate change are … cows, pigs and chickens?”, World Watch, November/December 2009: http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/Livestock%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf .
[34]. “Gas is not clean energy”: https://sites.google.com/site/gasisnotcleanenergy/ .
[35]. “List of countries by population (United Nations)”, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population_(United_Nations) .
[35]. Louise Yaxley, “Donald Trump’s decision “disappointing” but Australia still committed to Paris agreement, Malcolm Turnbull says”, ABC News, 2 June 2017: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-02/donald-trump-paris-deal-decision-disappointing-say-turnbull/8582696 .
[36]. “United against global warming”, The Greens, June 2017: http://greens.org.au/globalwarming?utm_source=civi&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=climate&utm_term=sign&utm_content=18126-trumpparis
[37]. Gideon Polya, “Paris Climate Agreement Betrays Humanity Which Must Apply Boycotts, Divestment And Sanctions (BDS) Against Climate Criminal People, Corporations & Countries”, Countercurrents, 14 December, 2015: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya141215.htm .
Dr Gideon Polya taught science students at a major Australian university for 4 decades. He published some 130 works in a 5 decade scientific career, most recently a huge pharmacological reference text “Biochemical Targets of Plant Bioactive Compounds” (CRC Press/Taylor & Francis, New York & London , 2003). He has published “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950” (G.M. Polya, Melbourne, 2007: http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ ); see also his contributions “Australian complicity in Iraq mass mortality” in “Lies, Deep Fries & Statistics” (edited by Robyn Williams, ABC Books, Sydney, 2007: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/ockhamsrazor/australian-complicity-in-iraq-mass-mortality/3369002#transcript
) and “Ongoing Palestinian Genocide” in “The Plight of the Palestinians (edited by William Cook, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2010: http://mwcnews.net/focus/analysis/4047-the-plight-of-the-palestinians.html ). He has published a revised and updated 2008 version of his 1998 book “Jane Austen and the Black Hole of British History” (see: http://janeaustenand.blogspot.com/ ) as biofuel-, globalization- and climate-driven global food price increases threaten a greater famine catastrophe than the man-made famine in British-ruled India that killed 6-7 million Indians in the “forgotten” World War 2 Bengal Famine (see recent BBC broadcast involving Dr Polya, Economics Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen and others: http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/social-economic-history/listen-the-bengal-famine ; Gideon Polya: https://sites.google.com/site/drgideonpolya/home ; Gideon Polya Writing: https://sites.google.com/site/gideonpolyawriting/ ; Gideon Polya, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gideon_Polya ) . When words fail one can say it in pictures – for images of Gideon Polya’s huge paintings for the Planet, Peace, Mother and Child see: http://sites.google.com/site/artforpeaceplanetmotherchild/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/gideonpolya/ .
