What China’s Climate Policy Can Bring to the World

Abstract

Which country burns more than half of the world’s coal on an annual basis but is lauded as a “climate champion”? Answer: China. Which country is deploying wind and solar energy faster than any other country and is often depicted as a heinous climate villain? Answer: China. In October 1939, Winston Churchill described Russia as “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” What, then, are we to say about China’s climate record? The main story up front is this: there is no riddle, nothing enigmatic or mysterious, about China’s climate policy. China is not a climate champion; neither is it a climate villain. For almost forty years, China has been a “capitalist roader.” It burns coal like there is no tomorrow. But it currently deploys renewable energy at levels that suggest it is perhaps far more concerned about tomorrow than some of its industrial competitors— including the United States.