From Reuters and other sources comes the simply underwhelming news that China climate goals run against growth: report:

China, the world’s biggest carbon dioxide emitter, will meet near-term goals to fight climate change but quick economic growth will mean C02 emissions will be higher than previously thought, researchers said on Tuesday.

China’s quick adoption of clean energy will help it exceed emissions-to-GDP targets agreed last year, but its carbon dioxide output will still be increasing a decade from now with an expanding economy, said scientists with Climate Action Tracker.

…

The study underscores the uncertain value of global pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions meant to meet the international goal of no more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) temperature rise over pre-industrial levels which most scientists agree is required to avoid potentially catastrophic climate events.

“We’re heading toward a warming of well over three degrees at present unless there are major improvements in the pledges,” said Bill Hare, the director of Climate Analytics, a research group based in Germany that took part in the study.

China’s concrete steps to curb carbon emissions go further than the pledges made by other big polluter nations such as the United States, the world’s second-largest CO2 emitter, said Hare.

You can also read the press briefing [PDF] with the findings mentioned above, or check out the already endlessly cited ‘carbonizing dragon’ paper, which was published in Environmental Science & Technology.

Of course, none of this should be news. I was one of many people who howled when China started saying they would make improvements in the carbon intensity of their economy, as even conservative estimates said that if they met their intensity goals their overall economy would grow enough to push their total emissions to ever higher levels.

So can we just stop all the swooning and admit that China is just as reluctant to do anything meaningful about their CO2 emissions as the US and India (and…)?

As I’ve said before: The “rich countries” spent a couple of centuries loading the gun and pointing it at our head, and now China and India seem absolutely determined to pull the trigger. Argue root vs. proximal causes of the coming catastrophe all you want; frankly, I don’t care any more than the atmosphere cares who emitted which molecules of CO2 and for what reasons.