Understanding Chinese Energy and Environmental Policies

* Article: From black to green? Understanding the evolution of Chinese energy policy. BY Emmanuel Hache. Revue internationale et stratégique Volume 115, Issue 3, 2019, pages 127 to 137

URL = https://www.cairn-int.info/journal-revue-internationale-et-strategique-2019-3-page-127.htm

"This paper sets out to analyze the coherence of China’s stance on energy and environmental issues. "

Description

"Since the early 2000s, Chinese assertion has been having a significant impact on all energy markets, world environmental issues, and intergovernmental relations alike. Realizing that its quest for power inevitably called for the control of energy flows on Chinese soil, the government deployed a two-pronged strategy: to seek out carbon resources beyond its borders and to diversify the energy mix. Though Beijing is now focusing on the environment, questions of oil supply are still the backbone of China’s energy security. An indicator of the country’s foreign policy, this problem led its economic actors to stage an international deployment. All sectors were affected by the so-called Go Global policy, and investment totaling 1,941 billion dollars was disbursed between 2005 and 2018 to buy up primary resources, technology, and businesses abroad. In parallel, China has been seeking to refocus its growth model since 2010, and has been investing in renewable energies to do so—approximately 1.2 percent of the country’s GDP in 2017, compared to 0.2 percent of US GDP—in response to the environmental constraints imposed by its economic development model. This investment effort, bolstered by the development of China’s bargaining status in world climate negotiations, looks set to usher in a kind of green leadership by a pragmatic China as the US backs away from the issue."