Yeah, no. The west industrialized by polluting the world, and it still reaping its benefits at the expense of the rest of the world. Historical emissions are absolutely relevant because they affect the present. Nice try though.
> Only present and future levels matter.
Yes. But present levels are high because of the historical emissions of the west. And presently the west is using way more than their allocated CO2 footprint.
That’s not relevant, unless all you care about is blame.
> and it still reaping its benefits at the expense of the rest of the world.
Anyone who industrializes or uses the products of industrialization reaps the benefits of the west’s industrialization.
If ‘the expense’ you refer to is climate change, the west will experience that too.
> Historical emissions are absolutely relevant because they affect the present.
They aren’t relevant because the past is not changeable.
> Nice try though.
Nice try at what?
> present levels are high because of the historical emissions of the west.
And because of the historical emissions of everyone else, but that’s not relevant to the future.
> And presently the west is using way more than their allocated CO2 footprint.
Who allocated a footprint?