Responsible China

Please tell me how it's China's "fault" that gas prices are so high:

Alarmed by high world oil prices and sporadic shortages of gasoline and diesel fuel in big cities this summer, China's leaders are drafting plans to impose steep taxes on cars and sport utility vehicles with gas-guzzling engines.

The taxes would add as much as 27 percent to the price of vehicles with big engines, notably sports cars and SUVs, auto-industry officials and people advising the government on the plan said. At the same time, taxes may be cut slightly for models with the smallest, most efficient engines, though the details of these cuts are still under discussion, they said....

Meanwhile, China is working hard to reduce it's CO2 emissions.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The European Union agreed on Monday to give China the technology for a coal-fired power station designed to combat global warming as part of a wider accord on energy issues and climate change.

The clean coal-power plant will employ carbon capture and storage technology through which the coal plant can capture its own emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2), burying them in porous rock underground for long-term storage.

It should be noted that China has no obligation yet to reduce it's CO2 emissions under Kyoto - though this is not the same as saying there are no obligations whatsoever. Rather, China will be obligated as it's economy begins to approach developed-country levels. Still, despite the fact that China's got no legal need to reduce CO2 emissions, it's doing more to reduce emissions than the US is. Interestingly, it's also doing more (so far) than Canada is. Do we have a Kyoto plan from Paul Martin's Liberals yet?