Abstract
The 2015 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21) saw China take a prominent role in conjunction with many developed countries in pushing for greater cuts in emissions and giving impetus to a push towards renewable energy. This position was in contrast to COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009, where China had stressed the distinction between the needs of developing countries to have greater flexibility in the shift away from fossil fuels. Indeed, in the intervening years between COP15 and COP21, China shifted to become a driver of ambitious targets and emissions goals.
China’s leading role at COP21 in Paris reflected a domestic push to transform their economy to a focus on “green” energy as an integral part of economic strategy. The governing Chinese Communist Party is focused on maturing the Chinese economy to develop a larger service sector. Consequently, the government is shifting the economy away from labour-intensive industries towards high-tech industries such as the renewable sector. Along with the pure economic rationale underpinning the shift to green energy, there is also the opportunity to reinforce the government’s legitimacy as many younger Chinese place greater onus on the government to ensure improved social and environmental outcomes. In short, a large-scale shift to renewables suits the Chinese Communist Party’s objectives, in both economic and political terms.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
An, B., Lin, W., Zhou, A., & Zhou W. (2015).China’s market-oriented reforms in the energy and environmental sectors (Pacific Energy Summit 2015 Working Paper).
CBI China. (2011). 12th five-year plan (English translation). Available from http://www.cbichina.org.cn/cbichina/upload/fckeditor/Full%20Translation%20of%20the%2012th%20Five-Year%20Plan.pdf
Chen, G., & Lees, C. (2016). Growing China’s renewables sector: A developmental state approach. New Political Economy, 21(6), 574–586.
Dai, H., Xie, X., Xie, Y., Liu, J., & Masu, T. (2016). Green growth: The economic impacts of large-scale renewable energy development in China. Applied Energy, 162, 435–449.
Grano, S., & Zhang, Y. (2016). New channels for popular participation in China: The case of an environmental protection movement in Nanjing. China Information, 30(2), 165–187.
Green, F., & Stern, N. (2015). China’s “new normal”: structural change, better growth, and peak emissions. Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP) and Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, July 2015 Policy Brief.
He, L. (2016, February 4). China’s environmental service sector to benefit from big government spending. South China Morning Post (SCMP). Retrieved July 14, 2016 from http://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/1909228/chinas-environmental-service-sector-benefit-big-government-spending
Held, D., Nag, E., & Roger, C. (2012). The governance of climate change in developing countries: A Report on International and Domestic Climate Change Politics in China, Brazil, Ethiopia and Tuvalu. LSE-AFD Climate Governance Programme (Savoir No 15, October 2012). Retrieved April 12, 2017 from http://www.afd.fr/jahia/webdav/site/afd/shared/PUBLICATIONS/RECHERCHE/Scientifiques/A-savoir/15-VA-A-Savoir.pdf
Henderson, G., Song, R.,& Joffe, P. (2016). 5 Questions: What Does China’s New Five-Year Plan Mean for Climate Action? World Resources Institute. Retrieved September 28, 2016 from http://www.wri.org/blog/2016/03/5-questions-what-does-chinas-new-five-year-plan-mean-climate-action
Hilton, I., & Kerr, O. (2016). The Paris agreement: China’s ‘new normal’ role in international climate negotiations. Climate Policy, 17(1), 48–58.
Howard, P. (2011). ‘harmony’ in China’s climate change policy. In M. Hossain & E. Selvanthan (Eds.), Climate change and growth in Asia (pp. 177–192). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Inglehart, R. (1997). Modernization and postmodernization. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Kahn, M. (2016). For China, climate change is no hoax—it’s a business and political opportunity. The Conversation. Retrieved December 11, 2016 from http://theconversation.com/for-china-climate-change-is-no-hoax-its-a-business-and-political-opportunity-69191
Keqiang, L. (2016). Report on the work of the government. Retrieved April 4, 2016 from http://news.Xinhuanet.Com/english/china/2016-03/17/c_135198880_2.Htm.
KPMG. (2015). Taxes and incentives for renewable energy. KPMG International. Retrieved from https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/pdf/2015/09/taxes-and-incentives-2015-web-v2.pdf
Liu, Z. (2016). China’s carbon emissions report 2016. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
Mathews, J., & Tan, H. (2014). Manufacture renewables to build energy security. Nature, 513, 166–168.
MOFCOM (Ministry of Commerce People’s Republic of China). (2013). Renewable Energy Law of the People’s Republic of China. Retrieved August 12, 2016 from http://englisfh.mofcom.gov.cn/article/policyrelease/Businessregulations/201312/20131200432160
Murray, J.(2016, August 31). Chinese public overwhelmingly backs renewables push. Business Green. Retrieved November 12, 2016 from http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2469252/chinese-public-overwhelmingly-backs-renewables-push.
NBS. (2016). Statistical Communiqué of the People’s Republic of China on the 2015 National Economic and Social Development. Retrieved February 30, 2016 from http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/201602/t20160229_1324019.html
NBS (National Bureau Statistics of China). (2014). China statistical yearbook 2014. Retrieved from http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2014/indexeh.htm.
NDRC (National Development and Reform Commission). (2016). The 13th Five Year Plan for economic and social development of the People’s Republic of China (2016–2020), Retrieved April 12, 2017 from http://en.ndrc.gov.cn/newsrelease/201612/P020161207645765233498.pdf
PMPRCUN (Permanent Mission of the Peoples’ Republic of China to the UN). (2009). Implementation of the Bali Roadmap: China’s Position on the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference May 20, 2009. Retrieved May 20, 2016 from http://www.china-un.org/eng/chinaandun/economicdevelopment/climatechange/t568959.htm
Qi, Y., Stern, N., Wu, T., Lu, J., & Green, F. (2016). China’s post-coal growth. Nature Geoscience, 9, 564–566.
Shen, W. (2016). A new era for China’s renewable energy development? External shocks, internal struggles and policy changes. (Evidence Report No 196). Rising powers in international development. Institute of Development Studies.
Slater, H. (2017).China’s new lacklustre renewable energy target. East Asia Forum. Retrieved March 2, 2017 from http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2017/03/01/chinas-new-lacklustre-renewable-energy-targets/
The Economist (from the print edition). (2015, December 5). Raise the Green Lanterns. Retrieved May 14, 2016 from http://www.economist.com/news/china/21679500-china-using-climate-policy-push-through-domestic-reforms-raise-green-lanterns
UN (United Nations). (2016). In China, Ban highlights country’s leadership on sustainable development, climate change. UN Sustainable Development Blog. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2016/07/in-china-ban-highlights-countrys-leadership-on-sustainable-development-climate-change/
UNFCC (United Framework Convention on Climate Change). (2015). Paris Agreement, Conference of the Parties Twenty-first session Paris, 30 November to 11 December 2015. Retrieved from https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09r01.pdf.
UNFCC (United Framework Convention on Climate Change). (2016). Paris Agreement: Statement of ratification. Retrieved from http://unfccc.int/paris_agreement/items/9444.php.
Wen, J. (2010). Report on the work of the Government 2009. Retrieved June 30, 2012 from http://www.npc.gov.cn/englishnpc/Special_11_5/2010-03/03/content_1690628.htm
World Bank. (2016). World development indicators: China GDP per capita. Retrieved from http://databank.worldbank.org/data/reports.aspx?source=2&series=NY.GDP.PCAP.KD.ZG&country=CHN#
World Bank. (2017). GDP growth: China. Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?end=2015&locations=CN&start=2015&view=map
Zhang, Y., Zhang, M., Liu, Y., & Nie, R. (2017). Enterprise investment, local government intervention and coal. Energy Policy, 101, 162–169.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Howard, P. (2018). From “Harmony” to a “Dream”: China’s Evolving Position on Climate Change. In: Hossain, M., Hales, R., Sarker, T. (eds) Pathways to a Sustainable Economy . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67702-6_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67702-6_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-67701-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-67702-6
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)