Are the Chinese on the right track?

China argues, despite building on average a coal-fired power plant every week that greenhouse gas emissions level of any given country is a multiplication of its per capita emission and its population, and that it contributes to the world environment by having population controls.

They have somewhat of a point. Even if one can stabilise emissions per capita, if the world population grows by 20%, then emissions grow by 20%.

In fact I seriously doubt one can lower emissions per capita by enough, to compensate for population growth.

And if you ask me what is easier? Convince every person in the world to cut their living standards and emit 20% less carbon or to have 20% less people born, I suspect the latter is far easier. Hell this si already the case in most European countries.

So maybe the best thing we can do to help global warming is not to focus on emissions per capita, but to campaign for birth control.