Europe and US would still not have an ideological high ground even if they fully decommissioned coal. They built their wealth on coal, so from the perspective of BRIC and other still-industrializing countries they would (and in fact already do) appear like they are just trying to pull up the drawbridge. Pressuring developing countries to stop using coal is a lost cause, and will only increase enmity.
What we really have to do is to make alternatives so cheap and reliable, that coal looks like the stupid choice. Renewables can even be sold to certain poor areas (like deserts) as a great chance for an economic leap.
India and China have a much larger population than Europe and the US. So the situation is not comparable to the time when Europe and the US did their industrial revolution. BRICs cannot act as if it is. There are many ways to apply pressure that are not necessarily adversarial. But of course if Europe does not lead the way in de-carbonating electricity it will automatically be perceived as adversarial.
It's not a fair comparison, coal was pretty much the only game in town and at a time when understanding of pollution only related to local level.
Yes its unfair but at the end of the day its the developing countries that will be hit hardest by climate change, not the west. I do agree we should subsidise clean energy around the world though.
What we really have to do is to make alternatives so cheap and reliable, that coal looks like the stupid choice. Renewables can even be sold to certain poor areas (like deserts) as a great chance for an economic leap.