Photo: IC

In a story published on Wednesday, The Guardian took potshots at China for its climate change record. The article titled "China's young climate heroes fight apathy - and the party line" praised Howey Ou, a 16-year-old Chinese girl, for leading a lone crusade against climate change in the country. She conducted a public climate strike in front of the local government building in Guilin, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in May. Ou told the British newspaper the Chinese people don't care about climate change and they "can't petition to protest and do something about the climate."

The article by Michael Standaert slammed the Chinese political system and government, even attributing why there won't be climate strikes in China to "strict conditions on public gatherings." What a wild imagination the reporter has! 

Ou was called a "true hero" in The Guardian's article. It's ridiculous that the teenager who just announced on September 15 she "planted six trees" was given such a credit simply because she answered the call of Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish girl who started the global youth climate movement, to boycott classes. 

Countless people in China are in fact contributing to protecting the environment and dealing with climate change, but they just don't want to publicize it. 

The Ant Forest project by China's e-commerce giant Alibaba, together with the UN Environment Program, launched the world's first green digital financial alliance during the Davos World Economic Forum on January 19, 2017. With donations from a considerable number of Chinese web users, the project has helped raise the forest cover and vegetation cover in China's seventh-largest desert, Kubuqi Desert, to 15.7 percent and 53 percent respectively in 2016, compared to 0.8 percent and 16.2 percent in 2002.

Some government steel industry insiders told me the Chinese government had thrown its weight behind eliminating outdated and excess production capacity, which significantly reduced emissions. Take the controversial move of replacing coal with natural gas as fuel for heating installations in northern China. Although it was found wanting in flexibility, it showed China's resolve to cut emissions. 

Because climate change is a global challenge, it cannot be solved by the wishful thinking of an individual. It involves such issues as wealth gap, stage of economic development, poverty and access to energy resources. It cannot be solved at one go. The proclivity of Western liberal media outlets to mislead people into believing that climate change is easy to deal with and any determined person can do it, is worrying. 

Thunberg explained to Trevor Noah in The Daily Show on September 11 why she had chosen to sail rather than fly to New York. 

She said, "Just to make a stand and I am one of the very few people in the world who can make such a trip so I thought, why not?" 

Noah said Thunberg's act would inspire the young and old. But even Thunberg knows there aren't many who can make such a trip, as she is sponsored. 

An article in The Washington Post said "very few people have the luxury or the ability to take two weeks over a voyage." Thunberg's zero-emission trip is impossible for most, especially those from developing countries who urgently need to improve living standards and enjoy modern life. 

We can see that the teenager doesn't understand the fundamental economic problems involved in the climate issue. Due to the high cost of many so-called green projects that cannot be reduced, populists have been obstructing efforts to deal with climate change. A bulk of low-income people regard the projects as a self-entertaining game of elites. 

Thunberg attended US Congressional hearing on Wednesday. She urged Congress to take steps and gave a call on September 16 to join a global climate strike on Friday during her speech at George Washington University. I truly wish the problem can be solved after people crowd the streets with slogans. 

However, in reality, Thunberg's activities might only reinforce what President Donald Trump and his party are trumpeting - that the climate change is "bullshit." After all, when grown-ups give - in a mischievous way - a 16-year-old teenager serious and complicated issue to handle, the topic will seem flimsy. 



The author is a freelance commentator based in Beijing. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn