Carbon Emissions

This opinion piece addresses the question "China and India are right to resist binding emissions targets" and was written to provoke debate and discussion about the issue of carbon emissions. It was written by an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded researcher, for the Debating Matters competition. The opinion piece looks at the evidence showing that burning fossil fuels could have catastrophic consequences but also discusses how reducing the use of these fuels could prevent the growth and development of economies. Risks and uncertainty have to be considered in decisions about how to reduce pollution, with an understanding that it is often the poor suffer who disproportionately when emissions targets are set. ESRC is a part of Research Councils UK (RCUK).