“Green” China

A newly-posted article at the JCA publisher’s website is the article “The ‘Greening’ of China: Progress, Limitations and Contradictions” by Chiara Piovani (DOI: 10.1080/00472336.2016.1203011).

Dr Piovani is with the Department of Economics at University of Denver in the USA.

As is well known, China’s economic growth has made it a major industrial power and a major emitter of greenhouse gas. At the same time, it is a leader in the production of some of the most significant renewable energy technologies such as photovoltaic cells, often in joint ventures.

This position makes an assessment of “Green” China’s current location in climate change and renewables all the more important, and Dr Piovani provides plenty of details and data.

The abstract for the article states:

China’s rapid economic growth in the last three decades has been fuelled by energy-intensive investment and manufacturing, which have become instrumental for China to become the world’s largest economy based on purchasing power parity, and for the United States and the European Union to have access to cheap consumer goods. China’s development strategy, however, has generated a serious domestic environmental crisis, which has also accelerated the global climate emergency. In addition, the 2008 economic crisis led to a collapse of China’s external demand, inducing the leadership to support domestic investment – including investment in environmental projects – as an alternative source of effective demand. By setting ambitious green targets and by adopting strategic policy initiatives, China has become the world’s largest investor in renewable energy. Yet China remains the world’s largest coal consumer and the world’s largest carbon dioxide emitter. The Chinese economy nears a crossroad: will it be able to maintain its commitment to green energies or will it fall back to its historical reliance on fossil fuels to sustain growth? This article evaluates the interplay between China’s economy and environment over the course of the reform period, and investigates the set of forces that impinge upon China’s ecological future.